Purpose

In 2025, West Sussex County Council published a West Sussex Sexual Health Needs Assessment (SHNA) which explored the needs of communities within the county at highest risk of poor sexual health outcomes and who experience multiple barriers to accessing the clinical sexual health service. To meet these needs, the SHNA recommended a community-based approach taking the form of small projects designed from within these communities to build relationships and enable improved access to sexual health services in West Sussex. In response to this, Public Health has piloted different approaches to engaging with these communities and addressing some of the health inequalities that exist in relation to sexual health.

Evaluation of these pilot projects has demonstrated several positive outcomes, including an increased knowledge and awareness of sexual health and local services (amongst both staff and residents), the breaking down of cultural barriers to enable honest and open conversations about sexual health, stronger collaboration between local services, and the development of co-produced resources.

Given these outcomes, WSCC Public Health would like to sustain this community-based programme by putting in place a framework that would provide opportunities for small contracts to meet the specific needs of these key health inclusion groups. Contracts would be awarded at intervals throughout the lifetime of the framework enabling Public Health to respond to changes in population need during the lifetime of the framework.

Decision

The Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing has approved that;

1)   a procurement exercise to secure a framework arrangement for the Community Based Sexual Health Support Service in West Sussex be undertaken using Provider Selection Regime Regulations.  The framework will commence 1 April 2027 for a period of 4 years. The total value of the framework to the Council over the whole of the 4-year period is estimated to be £1.12m;

2)   authority be delegated to the Director of Public Health to enable successful suppliers to be awarded a position on the framework on completion of the procurement exercise within the parameters set out in section 2 this report; and

3)   authority be delegated to the Director of Public Health to award and enter into all call-off contracts within the framework arrangement in accordance with its terms.