To seek agreement to extend the current health visiting and school nursing contract whilst further work is undertaken to explore options to secure a more integrated service model and approach to meeting the needs of children and young people from the ages of 0-19.

Cabinet received a report to seek agreement to extend the current health visiting and school nursing contract whilst work was undertaken on options to secure a more integrated service model and approach to meeting the needs of children and young people from the ages of 0-19.

In the ensuing discussion, the following points were made:

·         That the contract applied to all schools in the county, regardless of whether they were academies. 

·         That childhood obesity was a concern, and additional data on this area could be provided to members.  It was important to ensure children got the best start in life to help prevent them from suffering health problems in later life.

Resolved

That:

a)    agreement be given to extend the existing health visiting and school nursing (public health nursing) contracts for a period of up to one year from 1 April 2017 at an annual cost of £2.6m (service detailed in appendix 1);

b)    an option appraisal be undertaken to inform a further decision about the provision of an integrated children’s service by the end of March 2017; and

c)    by virtue of this decision report an exemption to paragraph 4.6.13.2 of the council’s contract procedure rules shall be granted to enable the extensions for the reasons as set out in paragraph 4 below and referred to throughout this document.