Issue - meetings

Approval was sought for the extension of the contract for the provision of the Recovery and Peer Support Service for 12 months until 31 March 2023, beyond the original contract award, together with a further contract extension to temporarily expand the service.

The Recovery and Peer Support Service provided mental health opportunities and social inclusion services, including a wide range of support for people with mental ill health, to improve and maintain their mental health and overall sense of wellbeing, to improve outcomes, and to support people with mental ill health to lead a fulfilling life. The service was an essential part of mental health care provision in Derbyshire, enabling the Council to meet its Care Act 2014 duty to prevent and delay the need for care and support.

There was a need for an additional 15 members of staff within the Recovery and Peer Support Service at a total cost of £0.420m. It had not been possible to re-commission the service to meet this additional need, as the Covid pandemic delayed the prototyping that would have informed the changes as well as the re-commissioning itself.

An extension was sought, including additional funding to enable the appointment of additional staff, in accordance with Regulation 72 within the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. It would also allow for the re-commissioning of an expanded service for April 2023, while continuing to provide a service to Derbyshire residents in the interim.

RESOLVED – to approve (1) the extension of the contract for the provision of the Recovery and Peer Support Service for 12 months until 31 March 2023, beyond the original contract award; and (2) a further contract extension to temporarily expand the service.