Purpose

Oldham Council currently commission Pennine
Care to deliver Parent Infant Mental Health Services as part of the
Family Hubs Offer. The original contract was awarded for two years
and will end on 6 January 2026 with no option to extend.
A new contract for 1 year could be awarded via Provider Selection
Regime (PSR) Direct Award Option C. This option would avoid losing
skilled, clinical staff and a potential gap in service delivery. It
would also allow time to consider future commissioning
arrangements

Content

RESOLVED - That:
To approve the award of a further one-year contract to Pennine Care
for the delivery of PIMHS from 7 January 2026 up to 31 January 2027
and following a successful Provider Selection Regime (PSR)
exercise. Funding is available within the Family Hubs
budget.

Reasons for the decision

Option 1 - To approve the award of a further
one-year contract to Pennine Care for the delivery of PIMHS from 7
January 2026 up to 30 January 2027 and following a successful
Provider Selection Regime (PSR) exercise. Funding is available
within the Family Hubs budget.

Option 2 - Allow the contract to end in January 2026 and look at
commissioning options after this point. This is not recommended as
there would be a gap in service and highly skilled staff with
Oldham locality knowledge would be lost. Any procurement process
would take time to complete, and a new service would have to
recruit staff.

Alternative options considered

There is a risk that by not awarding this
contract, a gap in service could occur, and/or staff could seek
alternative employment due to the lack of job security.