Decision

The Director of Public
Health acting on behalf of the Champs Public Health Collaborative
(which is hosted by Wirral Council) has awarded a contract for the
period commencing 24th October 2025 and ending 31st
March 2027 in the sum of £145,000 to Warrington Borough
Council as lead/host authority for Trading Standards North West to
provide trading standards support the All Together Smokefree
Illicit Tobacco and Vapes Programme which supports the
implementation of the Cheshire and Merseyside All Together
Smokefree Programme for the Champs Public Health Collaborative.
 

Reasons for the decision

Smoking costs the
Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region £1.75bn annually, with
direct healthcare costs of £75.9m.
 
The £145,000
procurement will be funded from within the existing budget for the
Cheshire and Merseyside Illicit Tobacco and Vapes Programme over
2024-2027, as part of a £5.7m combined budget for the All
Together Smokefree programme provided by NHS Cheshire and
Merseyside and the nine Directors of Public Health.
 
The Champs
Collaborative operates on behalf of the nine Directors of Public
Health in Cheshire and Merseyside and the Director of Population
Health at the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board and
is hosted by Wirral Council.  The budget
for this contract will sit within the Champs Support Team programme
budget the spend will be overseen by the Champs Support Team All
Together Smokefree programme reporting to the Directors of Public
Health Executive Board as part of the Collaborative governance
arrangements.
 
Trading Standards
North West (TSNW) is uniquely placed to deliver a coordinated
approach to tackling illicit tobacco and vapes across the
sub-region to coordinate and support this delivery as:
 
· 
It is hosted within region in Warrington Borough Council with its
Co-ordinator based there
· 
The North West Co-ordinator is a nationally recognised expert on
illicit tobacco and vapes and is the national Chartered Trading
Standards Institute (CTSI) Lead for Tobacco and Vapes
· 
Its membership includes all nine Cheshire and Merseyside local
authorities Trading Standards Teams
· 
It hosts the Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU) which co-ordinates
and packages intelligence. In order to effectively deliver an
Illicit Tobacco and Vapes programme it is essential to procure
additional support from the RIU to manage the additional
intelligence generated by the programme
· 
It has excellent links into national and regional HM Revenue and
Customs, Border force and regional and national Police
· 
It is the only regional group which is a partner in the National
Illicit Tobacco Illicit Tobacco Partnership
 
Trading Standards
North West will be supporting the Cheshire and Merseyside All
Together Smoke Free Programme ambition, tackling supply and demand
for the illicit tobacco trade and the newer illicit vape market, to
ensure children and young people are prevented from taking up
smoking or vaping and ensure Government's new smokefree generation
legislation and vaping regulations are effective. Illicit sales can
support wider criminal activity and seek to undermine the ambition
of a smokefree generation.
 
Trading Standards
North West (TSNW) is a key enforcement partner, alongside HM
Revenue and Customs and Cheshire and Merseyside Police. It is
uniquely placed to coordinate and support the delivery of a
Cheshire and Merseyside Illicit Tobacco and Vapes programme. TSNW
is hosted within Warrington Borough Council and its Co-ordinator is
based there.
 
Neither the Champs
Support Team nor Wirral Council have the expertise or resource to
deliver this aspect of the programme across the Cheshire and
Merseyside sub-region.
 
 
 

Alternative options considered

Not contracting
Trading Standards North West – Not contracting Trading
Standards North West would result in an inability to effectively
tackle illicit tobacco and vapes working with the nine Cheshire and
Merseyside local Trading Standards Departments in a co-ordinated
way with all local, regional and national agencies.
 
Due to the lack of
capacity and expertise within the internal Champs Support Team and
Wirral Council, delivery of the work across the sub-region could
not be effectively coordinated.
 
Reducing TSNW
budget – A budget reduction would result in greatly
reduced ability to tackle the illicit trade across Cheshire and
Merseyside.