The purpose of this report is to seek approval to bring into the council the content management and support / promotion of the WISH (Wellbeing Information and Signposting in Herefordshire) website.

WISH is the council’s main information and advice service for wellbeing and support for adults, children and families in Herefordshire. It forms a key part of the strategic approach to wellbeing and prevention.

WISH has two elements;

·         Technical maintenance and hosting of a website with information, signposting and advice

·         Development, content management and support / promotion of the website

This report covers the second element only.

The current support and development service was commissioned in 2015 from Services for Independent Living (SIL). The original focus of this service was to provide an in-person information and signposting hub to use and complement the website. However, experience has demonstrated that aspects of this service are not required and it is to be discontinued in its current form. The SIL service has therefore already been changed to help transition to an approach focused on promoting and extending the online content of WISH. As a result, there will be no telephone or face to face information and advice offer as part of WISH from 2018.

The contract with SIL will expire in March 2018. The role required to support and complement the online WISH service has changed significantly since 2015 and needs to evolve yet further from April 2018. It is proposed to deliver an in-house service which will focus on developing and promoting the content of the website, maintaining the quality and supporting its additional interactive technology. An extended and fully functioning WISH service is required to ensure it is a current and credible offer, to enable the council’s strategic wellbeing approach and to ensure an effective whole system offer of information, advice and signposting across the county.

Technical maintenance and hosting of the WISH website is commissioned from Public Consulting Group Ltd until May 2020.

1.            The option to re-commission a WISH service in its current form. The current service, contracted since 1 April 2015, is an information, advice and signposting hub, which provides an in-person wellbeing service, using the WISH website to signpost and enable service users to independently source information. This option is not recommended since monitoring data shows demand on the hub is low and the approach is not cost-effective. It is clear that signposting to, and the use of, the WISH online service can more effectively be carried out and promoted by universal services.

2.            The option to commission a revised WISH service via a competitive procurement process. This option is not recommended. A soft market testing exercise was undertaken to assess market interest in the light of the limited contract value and requirement for a diverse combination of skills. It demonstrated that there was no apparent equivalent service already being provided by the market and the combination of skills and resources required is not readily available from potential providers.

3.            The option not to have any service to support the WISH website. This option is not recommended. Without dedicated staff time and expertise, the content on the website will quickly become outdated and the overall focus and presentation of the service and its reputation will decline rapidly. WISH is not yet being used widely or consistently within the council, or across commissioned, health and universal services and the third sector. Work is required to promote and embed its use and ensure that this is sustained. The proposed service is essential to maintain the quality and relevance of WISH and to support its new interactive platforms and functions.  In addition, WISH is complementary to the delivery of the council’s adult social care pathway, as the mainstream source for wellbeing and community-based information utilised by the public and universal services in Herefordshire. Maintaining the content on WISH and maximising and promoting its use is therefore essential. The skills and expertise for this are different from those held by the council’s communications team.

The total cost of information and signposting services will remain at £130k per annum, which is the current value of the contract with SIL. The in-house WISH support service will be delivered at a cost of £90k per annum. The remaining £40k has been redirected to support specific and complementary information and signposting for carers. This was included in the Carers Strategy for Herefordshire decision report approved by Cabinet in July 2017 and has been incorporated into re-procurement of services for carers.