Purpose

The Executive Director for Children’s Services, in consultation
with the Executive Councillor for Children’s Services, agreed to
award the contract to LCHS in March 2025.
The contract with LCHS was procured in line with procurement
regulations and the Council’s Contract and Procurement
Procedure Rules (CPPRs) through the Provider Selection Regime
(PSR) and commenced 1st April 2025 for an initial term of two
years to 31st March 2027, with an option to extend for a further
one year to 31st March 2028.
ECLIPS is an enhancement to the LCHS existing core Speech and
Language Therapy (SALT) service commissioned by NHS
Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB). ECLIPS offers intense
support and advice to mainstream primary, secondary and
further education settings for Children and Young People (CYP)
with significant Development Language Disorder (DLD) and
other Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) to be
able to access the curriculum earlier within their local
mainstream setting.
The Service is performing well in terms of performance against
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The contract extension will ensure a seamless continuation of
services for students, ensuring their speech and language
support needs remain uninterrupted and stable. The extension
will also provide time for the Council to understand and
respond to the requirements arising from the national SEND
reforms, enabling consideration of future service delivery and
provision models to ensure that subsequent commissioning
decisions are informed, sustainable and aligned with emerging
national policy.

Decision

That the Executive Director of Children’s Services approves a
12-month extension to the Contract with Lincolnshire
Community Health Services (LCHS) for the provision of the
Extended Communication and Language Impairment
Provision of Students (ECLIPS) from 1st April 2027 to 31st
March 2028. This is an extension provided for within the
existing contractual terms and conditions.
The value of the 12-month extension will be £158,162
(excluding VAT).

Alternative options considered

Do nothing (extension): Once the contract ceases on 31st March
2027 the service would end. This would have significant impact
on CYP already accessing ECLIPS and future CYP with an
identified need for specialist speech and language therapy and
is therefore not recommended.
Re-commission an ECLIPS Service through a competitive
procurement process: The extension to the contract is allowed
for within the terms and conditions and, with the service
performing well, there would be no benefit to CYP in
undertaking a procurement process. Furthermore, the economy
of ECLIPS being an integrated part of the LCHS SALT Service is
currently significant, and market research suggests the cost of
private provision will be higher. Also, with the changes due to
SEND Reform still to be confirmed, there is a risk that any re-
commissioned service may not meet the requirements; an
extension will allow time for the changes to be released and the
service to be designed accordingly.
Insource an ECLIPS Service: Not a viable option. LCC currently
has no in-house specialist speech and language therapist
specialists. Specialist SALT staff would need to be employed or
LCHS staff would need to TUPE.