Decision details

The annex is NOT FOR PUBLICATION in accordance with paragraph (s) 3 of Schedule 12A of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Cabinet Member:

1.    Approved the award of contract to Solutions 4 Health Ltd to deliver an Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service in Peterborough for the sum of £4,208,923.67 over 5 years from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2022 with the option to extend for a further 2 years, following the completion of a competitive tender process.

2.    Approved the transfer of 19 Peterborough City Council employees from within Public Health’s Healthy Lifestyle team to Solutions 4 Health Ltd on 1 April 2017 in accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981.

3.   Authorised the Director of Governance to enter into any legal agreements necessary to document the contract and legal arrangements.

There are socio-economic inequalities within  Peterborough, with areas of significant deprivation close to central Peterborough, while the health of people in Peterborough is generally worse than the England average.  A review of the overarching indicators within the Public Health Outcome Framework demonstrates a RAG rating of Red across four of the six life expectancy indicators.  Furthermore, life expectancy is not uniform across the City with variations of up to nine years in life expectancy evident between wards that are geographically close.

Years of life spent in poor health are also significant within Peterborough. A woman in Peterborough can expect to live to over 82 but will spend around 22 years in declining health, while a man can expect to live to nearly 78 having spent 20 years in poor health. This results in reduced quality of life for individuals and their families and also places an unsustainable burden on health and social care services. By reducing lifestyle risk factors across our population the burden of ill health could be significantly reduced.

Smoking rates in Peterborough are similar to the national and regional averages with 17.7% of the adult population smoking. This rate has declined in recent years, and at a faster rate than the national average, from 25.2% in 2010 to its current rate. However, the current levels are still significantly higher than the lowest rate in the region of 15.5%. The smoking rates among routine and manual workers, 25.1%, have also dropped in recent years but are still higher than several areas in the region. The percentage of women smoking during pregnancy in Peterborough is also significantly higher than national and regional rates at approximately 16%.

Two out of three adults in Peterborough are overweight or obese which is comparable to the regional average. The number of children aged 10-11 years with excess weight in Peterborough is slightly lower than the national and regional averages at 32.2%, but this still equates to one in three children. The number of children in Peterborough with excess weight at age 4-5 years is 21.3%, which is slightly higher than the regional average for this age group.

Evidence shows that an active life is essential for physical and mental health and wellbeing. A number of diseases are currently on the increase and affecting people at an earlier age. They include cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a priority for Peterborough. Regular physical activity can guard against these, however, physical inactivity rates in Peterborough are worse than the national and regional averages.

Option 1 - Maintain the status quo - Continuing to deliver a smaller Healthy Lifestyle Service through the Public Health directorate, together with a separate contract with Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) for weight management services, was considered. This was rejected as it was agreed that procuring a new integrated service through a competitive tender would enable the service to be developed and enhanced.

Option 2 - Smaller scale procurement - Undertaking a narrower competitive tender that did not include Tier 3 Weight Management services funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group. This was rejected as it was agreed that this would create an unnecessary separation of services to the detriment of local residents.

None.

None.