Decision details

To consider the report of the Head of Health and Community Care, seeking approval to enter into a legal partnership with NHS Southampton to develop integrated commissioning and supported funding arrangements for services to meet the needs of adults with learning disabilities and their carers.  The Council will act as the lead partner and have the responsibility for the management and performance of integrated commissioning and supported funding arrangements.  This partnership will be facilitated by a section 75 contract under the Health Act 2006.

(i)  To enter into a partnership agreement between the Council and NHSSC or relevant successor body for a period of ten (10) years from 1^st April 2011 upon such terms as the Solicitor to the Council considers reasonable under Section 75 National Health Services Act 2006 and enable the Council to act as lead partner for the Integrated Commissioning of Learning Disability Services and relevant financial arrangements;

(ii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Health and Adult Social Care to enter into this partnership arrangement and approve future variations to the agreement; and

(iii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Health and Adult Social Care to establish a Partnership Board to manage the partnership Arrangements and to agree the constitution and terms of reference for the Partnership Board.

The report proposes an appropriate contractual arrangement to support the joint working arrangement between the two partners to allow integrated and holistic service commissioning for this customer group and the establishment of a pooled budget. The arrangements are required under Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006.

1. The proposed contractual arrangement is mandatory under Section 75 NHS Act 2006 to support the level of joint working proposed.
2. The two partners have considered continuing to commission separately without shared agreement on financial arrangements but the experience of reaching agreement with regard to the transfer of responsibility for social care commissioning, which was required by parliament, demonstrated the advantages of joint commissioning with an agreed shared financial arrangement.  This was recommended by external facilitation employed to negotiate the required transfer.  Experience has demonstrated that the proposed arrangements reduces the potential for transfer of funding responsibility and increases the contractual benefits of joint planning, service design, procurement and purchasing.