To agree a six month extension to the original section 75 agreement between the local authority and Herefordshire clinical commissioning group (HCCG), to 30 September 2016.

To ensure that sufficient time is available for the development of a single section 75 agreement and that contractual agreement are in place whilst this work is completed.

The section 75 agreement provides a contractual framework for the use of pooled funds between the council and HCCG to enable services to be delivered and commissioned co-dependently. The arrangements enable delegation of functions in order to secure efficiencies and to avoid duplication.  The recommendation has been made for this to continue within one section 75 agreement in the future.

This partnership arrangement under section 75 of the NHS Act 2006 enables partners to commission integrated health and social care services to better meet the needs of the service users than if the partners were operating independently. The current agreement is due to end on 31 March 2016, unless further extended. The extension of the general section 75 agreement and the section 75 agreement for the better care fund is the recommended option.

An alternative option would be for the section 75 agreements to be terminated and services to be commissioned individually by partners. However, this is not recommended due to the benefits gained through joint commissioning.

Continuing the section 75 arrangements through two separate agreements is an option.  However, the principle of developing a single agreement is recommended in order to achieve efficiencies and to reduce duplication