RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

A. Approved procurement approach (option 3) to procure Integrated Sexual Health (ISH) services jointly with Wandsworth and Richmond council following a competitive tender approach, with Wandsworth as lead commissioner. All Merton governance processes will still be adhered to. The Council through the Director of Public Health has a statutory responsibility to commission and provide open access sexual and reproductive health services.

B. Approved the 3-year contract term plus the option to extend for a further period of up to 2 + 2 years for the new ISH service (potential total contract length of 7 years) C. Approved procurement timeline to award contract by March 2024 and initiate 6- month mobilisations period for a new contract to start 1st October 2024

D. Approved indicative financial envelope for the contract which will be finalised once a successful provider has been awarded the contract (indicative budget rather than a maximum ceiling budget has been set to encourage the market).

E. Approved that authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Adult Social Care, (ASC), Integrated Care and Public Health to approve award of the contract to the successful provider following procurement. This will allow alignment of procurement timelines with Wandsworth and Richmond councils.

F. Approved authority to take up the optional extensions on the contract be delegated to the Chief Officer and Executive Director of Adult Social Care (ASC), Integrated Care and Public Health in consultation with the Lead Member