Decision details

The Cabinet Member:  

1.     Approved a variation of the Council’s Integrated Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service contract with Change Grow Live Limited to incorporate additional grant funding received from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities for Rough Sleeper Drug and Alcohol Treatment for contract year 2023/24 and 2024/25. The contract variation value shall be £707,126.00 in contract year 23/24 and £734,803.00 in contract year 24/25.  The total value of the contract variation shall be £1,441,929.00.  

2.     Authorised the Council to enter into a contract variation with the provider, Change Grow Live Limited, for the contract years 2023/24 and 2024/25. 

The main reason for the recommendation is to approve the funding for 23/24 and 24/25 to enable a continuation of the Rough Sleeper Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service. Health and Wellbeing Strategy outcomes supported by this service include reducing the impact of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence especially for those in the lowest income bracket, reducing poverty through moving off the street and accessing housing and/or improving housing outcomes.  

Continuing the funding will help achieve the government’s ambition of reducing and eliminating rough sleeping and addressing one of the underlying causes which is substance misuse.  

When the project was developed a range of alternative models were considered which could have for example invested the funding via a housing provider or the Councils existing Rough Sleepers Team. These options though were ruled out for the following reasons: 

This service is required to provide specialist drug and alcohol treatment and CGL is the only commissioned provider in Peterborough delivering this.

The monitoring requirements set out by OHID require quarterly returns which include details of treatment progress, CGL as the treatment provider already has the necessary IT infrastructure to deliver this and other providers are unlikely to be able to invest the time and resources required to develop this.

Prior to the funding being awarded by central government the Council was already funding a Specialist Drug and Alcohol Treatment post within the CGL service in recognition that this is specialist work requiring the treatment oversight which CGL can offer.

For those rough sleepers who are not yet ready to engage in treatment, harm reduction needle and syringe provision needs to be offered and Blood Borne Virus testing, these are interventions which CGL as a Specialist Drug and Alcohol Treatment Provider is best placed to deliver

The CGL Team works in close partnership with the Councils Rough Sleeper Team undertaking joint outreach and co-locates with local housing providers to help access and support the rough sleeper/at risk of rough sleeper client group.

None.

OHID Mou Agreements and original bidding templates.