Councillor Aspinall (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care) introduced the item and highlighted the following points:

a)    The Complex Needs Alliance was a partnership of services which Plymouth City Council supported;

b)    The Alliance supported those over the age of 16 who had needs in relation to homelessness and substance misuse, mental health, offending or were at risk of exploitation;

c)    As well as working collaboratively with partners, the Alliance also crossed three areas of the Council: Strategic Commissioning, Public Health and Community Connections.

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities) added:

d)    Although the contract for the Alliance started in 2019, the work for it started in 2012/13;

e)    In 2012/13, 28 contracts were in place with a variety of organisations which delivered disjointed and often duplicated services to the homelessness sector;

f)     Additional contracts for drugs, alcohol and mental health were also pulled together into the Alliance;

g)    The Alliance was a partnership working to goals and behaviours;

h)    Recognition to Path, The Zone, Shakina Mission, Hamoaze, Bournemouth Churches, Harbour and Livewell Southwest who were at the heart of the Alliance;

i)     The Alliance was focused on collaboration, not competition;

j)     The Alliance had been able to attract nearly £10 million worth of additional funding to the city since 2019 by bidding together for grant funding;

k)    The Alliance was a key pillar which underpinned ‘Plan for Homes 4’ which worked to tackle homelessness;

l)     Thanks to those members who were retiring from The Alliance.

Matt Garrett (Service Director for Community Connections) added:

m)  This was the largest Alliance delivering this kind of work across England;

n)    The Alliance allowed the response to funding bids to be agile;

o)    The Alliance was able to flex and change depending on demand for services;

p)    The Alliance used appreciative inquiry to better understand people’s experiences and how the delivery of services aligned with those experiences to improve outcomes.

Emma Crowther (Interim Head of Commissioning) added:

q)    The paper sought permission to proceed with the first built-in contract extensions for the next two years;

r)    The paper also sought the approval of adding additional Grant Funding to the contract for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years as this would enable The Alliance to support work in relation to substance misuse and rough sleeping;

s)     The paper also sought approval for a Scheme of Delegation for the relevant portfolio holders to be able to proceed with future contract extensions based on their knowledge and understanding of the performance of the service;

t)     The paper also sought for the Strategic Director for People to approve any contract variations up to £3 million in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member.

Cabinet agreed to the following recommendations:

1.    To vary the current contract as set out in the report;

2.    To extend the current contract for a further two years (until 31 March 2026) at a core budget value of £6,308,747 per annum;

3.    To approve the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) and Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant (SSMTRG) awards for 2023-24 and RSI additional targeted award for 2024-25;

4.    To grant authority to the Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities and the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social care to extend the core contract before 31 March 2026 for an additional 2 + 1 years (in line with the original tender and Cabinet decision of 15 January 2019);

5.    To grant authority to the Strategic Director for People in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities and the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care to award future individual contract variations up to the value of £3 million per variation, as a result of Grant funding (including, but not limited to, RSI and SSMTRG) within the contract period.