Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services

Location

Oldbury

Description

A service for Sandwell adults aged 18 and over who are at risk of or are currently experiencing negative impacts as a result of their alcohol and/or drug use. The service will ensure provision of pharmacological and psychosocial support intervention provision aimed at those with potential or established needs. The service will ultimately contribute towards reducing drug and alcohol related deaths and harms, as well as reducing unmet need. Service delivery will sit within the context of the National Drug Strategy. The National Drug Strategy brings with it ambitions for increased treatment service capacity and quality resourced from associated grant funding (the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment & Recovery Grant - SSMTRG). The SSMTRG grant funding is additional to Local Authority expenditure on services and must be spent according to a specific menu of interventions focused on reducing drug and alcohol related harms and deaths. The grant funding is subject to annual confirmation covering the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25. The service will be expected to incorporate relevant and appropriate use of any additional SSMTRG funds to enhance treatment delivery in line with National Drug Strategy requirements

Ammendments to Previous Notice

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 85140000 - Miscellaneous health services
• 85100000 - Health services
• 98300000 - Miscellaneous services
• 85323000 - Community health services

Indicators

• Contract modified due to unforeseen circumstances.

Legal Justification

On 18 December 2025, Government provided details of ring-fenced funding for drug and alcohol services, including indicative amounts for the years 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29. The ring-fenced funding, transferred to Local Authorities as part of the Public Health Main Grant allocation, includes additional monies for the Individual Placement and Support Service (IPS) and the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant (DATRIG). The allocation for 2026/27 was confirmed and published by Government on 9 February 2026. While indicative amounts have been published, funding for 2027/28 and 2028/29 will be confirmed annually, prior to the start of each financial year. The additional monies can only be spent on Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and other specified elements within drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems which include a menu of priority focus areas. Any spend must aim to increase capacity and improve the quality of services. Many of the associated interventions can only be delivered by specialist drug and alcohol services and require full integration with existing provision. The Council was not aware of the funding arrangements for 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 when the specialist drug and alcohol treatment and recovery service was originally procured or when the contract commenced on 1 February 2023. Alternative options to contract variation were 1) Commission a separate service to provide capacity and quality enhancements or 2) Recommission drug and alcohol services to incorporate capacity and quality enhancements. Both options presented challenges in terms of timelines and the ability to advertise, evaluate and mobilise the contract given funding was only confirmed two months prior to the expected commencement date. Furthermore option 1 risked further challenges in terms of information sharing should a different provider be appointed as well as duplication and potential confusion for the people who use our services. Meanwhile option 2 would have required a 6 month notice period to the current provider given their contract (including confirmed extension periods) runs until 31 January 2028.

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. The decision to modify this contract was taken by Sandwell Metropolitan Council.