Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Services Contract

Location

Southend-on-Sea

Description

The Integrated Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service will deliver open-access, evidence- and community-based provision, working in partnership with other local services that are tailored to the needs and lifestyles of citizens in Southend-on Sea. The service will operate a delivery model which recognises national best practice, guidance and the needs of specific priority groups. The service model will incorporate provision of prevention, early intervention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services for Southend citizens at risk of harmful or hazardous drinking, dependent drinkers, users of all illicit and performance enhancing drugs, new psychoactive substances (legal highs), and adjunctive problematic use of prescribed and 'over the counter' medications. The service will be person-centred and offer quality and value for money and be designed to meet the needs of the local population. The service will be flexible, sustainable and innovative, whilst complying with the latest clinical guidelines and evidence-based research, with the provider being able to adapt to emerging needs of Southend-on-Sea. Lived experience will also be a vital tool particularly in relation to reviewing, designing and delivering the service. The provider is expected to work to an outcomes-based approach, and wherever possible this will be in collaboration with other agencies to achieve these outcomes. The service will be a single integrated specialist substance misuse service providing specialist drug and alcohol services for young people and adults, including specialist focus on addressing the drug and alcohol concerns of those within the criminal justice system and of those who have experienced a period of rough sleeping in the borough.

Ammendments to Previous Notice

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 85000000 - Health and social work services

Indicators

• Contract modified due to unforeseen circumstances.

Legal Justification

The additional funds have been awarded to The Council by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and are ring-fenced for the provision of Drug and Alcohol Services. The DHSC have provided an additional supplementary grant funding to improve drugs and alcohol services in line with the ambitions of the government's 10-year drug strategy: From Harm to Hope. In December 2025, the DHSC announced that the supplementary grants associated with the delivery of drugs and alcohol services would be consolidated into the Public Health Grant. As part of this shift, local authorities are required to work closely with local stakeholders to develop prevention, treatment and recovery plans, with the support from the Regional Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) team. Guidance associated with the grant planning process outlines the importance of continuing to invest directly in treatment and recovery services to improve access to treatment, and drive improvements in treatment quality. This includes the requirement to set local ambitions and targets relating to key drugs and alcohol indicators, and to detail how the allocation of the grant will support in realising these ambitions. As a key ambition within the national strategy is the expansion of treatment service capacity, a large proportion of the additional grant funding has been directed towards increasing the number and specialisms of treatment staff within STARS.

Other Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) contract modification notice, under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. This contract has now been formally modified. Decision makers for this modification included members of staff from the Adults and Communities and Finance and Resources departments, and Cabinet Members. There were no conflicts of interest identified.