In a single member decision, Councillor Samia Chaudhary, Cabinet Member for Education, Children, Skills & Employment, approved the direct award of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) to West London Trust (WLT) for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, at a cost of £666,666. This decision ensures continuity of early mental health support for children and young people in Hounslow.

Direct Award - Tier 2 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Councillor Samia Chaudhary approved the direct award of the Tier 2 CAMHS to West London Trust (WLT) for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, at a total cost of £666,666. The report considered by the cabinet member outlined that this direct award will allow sufficient time to engage stakeholders and co-design the new service, which is due to go live on 1 April 2026.

The CAMHS Tier 2 service offers early intervention for children and young people in Hounslow, aiming to prevent escalation into high-cost hospital services. The service has been running since March 2022 and brings together four related service specifications:

• CAMHS Tier 2 Team (Early Intervention Service)
• Specialist Intensive Support Programme (SISP)
• CAMHS Clinical Nurse Specialist for Youth Offending Service (YOS)
• Psychologist for Looked After Children Virtual Health Team (LAC)

The Youth Offending Service and Looked After Children services are funded through the NHS North West London Integrated Care Board.

The report considered three options:

• Competitive Procurement Exercise: This would involve considering other providers such as Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL). However, this option would require agreement from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) regarding changes in geographical responsibility, potentially causing Hounslow residents to travel longer distances to receive care.
• Do Nothing: This would lead to the discontinuation of the service, leaving children and young people without early mental health support.
• Direct Award: This option ensures continuity of service while allowing time to remodel and recommission the service for a longer-term contract, ensuring value for money.

The report noted that discontinuing the service would create a gap in early mental health provision, potentially leading to crisis situations, hospital admissions, and the need for higher-threshold services or costly social care placements. Awarding the service to another provider would require significant time and resources to change referral pathways and governance structures, potentially impacting partnership working through the Hounslow Borough Based Partnership (BBP).

The financial implications of the direct award are that the service is jointly funded between Children's Commissioning (£496,666) and Children's Social Care (£170,000), totalling £666,666. The report stated that inflation has been factored into these costs.

The report also outlined climate emergency implications, noting that WLT has developed a Sustainable Green Plan to achieve a net zero NHS in line with NHS England and Improvement (NHSE&I) targets. WLT aims to reach net zero direct carbon emissions by 2040, with an 80% reduction by 2028–2032, and net zero indirect emissions from suppliers by 2045, with an 80% reduction by 2036–2039.

The report included an Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA), which can be found in the Public Reports Pack¹. The assessment concluded that the service aligns with the council’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy, specifically Pillar 2, which aims to achieve equality for equality groups. The service supports the following action plans:

• Achieving Equality for People with Disabilities: Develop broader offer of support for mental health and other neurodiverse needs.
• Achieving Equality for LGBT+: Support LGBT+ communities who experience poor mental health.

The EqIA noted that the current provider offers a monthly young person CAMHS LGBTQ+ space for young people aged 12-18 years old.