Purpose

To present midpoint evaluation review and gain approval for 2 year extension for Time Swap.

Decision

The Cabinet Member for Health and Communities approved:

1) to activate the first one-year contract extension for CPH054 Time Swap beyond the original contract period for twelve-months from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026, with an increase in contract value of £0.233m in accordance with Protocol 10 of the Financial Regulations. To note that this will be funded by the Public Health Grant; and

2) to note the twelve-month extension period will provide an opportunity to revise the outcome measures linked to the contract and enable more time to gain better evidence of impact of the service to inform re-commissioning decisions. 

Reasons for the decision

The proposed one-year extension will allow the Public Health to redesign the evaluation and have more time to gather impact data and information around evidencing value for money. This evidence will inform and support the decision making for the future of Time Swap.

An extension will also enable the team to reflect on findings from this initial evaluation to revise current KPIs in order to develop the service from lessons learned and provide achievable targets for the remainder of the contract. Proposed changes to KPIs would commence at the start of year three of the contract.

Alternative options considered

Option 1: (Preferred option) Extend Time Swap beyond its original term for twelve months to reflect on lessons learned from the eighteen-month evaluation. An extension will allow for the amendments of the type of evidence gathered and the method in which it is collected to provide impact evaluation and information on value for money, which will support and direct the service in the future.

Option 2: Do not extend Time Swap and end the contract in October 2025.This is not recommended, as whilst the evaluation approach to date has not been overly effective, some initial insight and evidence suggests that Time Swap can provide positive outcomes. The extension will provide an opportunity to reflect on the findings to date and use lessons learnt to revise and amend the evaluation, to provide evidence for future commissioning.

Option 3: Do not extend Time Swap but re-advertise a new procurement. This is not recommended as SDCVS are performing well against targets and progressing service development. A new procurement would be costly and time consuming.