Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: May 6, 2025

Purpose: Cabinet is recommended to approve the re-procurement of the London Sexual Health Programme by 15 August 2026. Waltham Forest will participate as a member of a pan-London commissioning consortium led by City of London. The service to be procured is SHL.UK, an online sexual and reproductive health service which provides direct-to-consumer testing for sexually transmitted infections to Waltham Forest residents.  

Content: Cabinet: (1)          agreed that Waltham Forest can sign up as a participating authority in the London Sexual Health Programme, a continuation of a pan-London partnership which delivers cost savings to the Council, good outcomes for residents and benefits regional partnership working arrangements. (2)          approved the participation of Waltham Forest in the re-procurement of SHL.UK, which will require signing a memorandum of understanding and paying a one-off cross-charge to City of London for procurement costs; (3)          delegated authority to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead Member for Adults and Health, to: agree to the contract award on behalf of Waltham Forest Council, pending completion of the procurement process to the satisfaction of participating authorities. The procurement process will take place between June 2025 and March 2026. The contract will commence on 15 August 2026 for a contract term of five years plus two two-year extensions (a maximum term of nine years, ending in August 2035). The spend will be linked to activity and modelled for population growth, estimated at £5.6 million over the nine years for Waltham Forest. agree any future changes to the scope of the contract, pending local review, which could include: online access to contraception; online access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); online access to condoms. agree any future extensions to the contract, up to the maximum four additional years permitted.   Options & Alternatives Considered   Officers considered three alternatives to the proposed approach: Option 1: Do nothing Not continuing in the LSHP or the procurement of the e-service would redirect residents to face-to-face STI testing, predominantly done in clinics, which has higher unit costs and would therefore be more costly. This could also have a detrimental effect on public health and increase unmet need as clinics may not have the capacity to meet the activity taking place online currently. This route is not favoured for these reasons. Option 2: Procuring an e-service on a local level Undertaking a procurement exercise locally would be costly and resource-intensive and would negate the benefits realised by the economies of scale approach in the LSHP. This route is also not favoured. Option 3: Take part in the re-procurement of SHL.UK as a direct award Members of the LSHP considered whether utilising a direct award route to procurement would be beneficial but agreed that the benefits in efficiencies and innovation offered by a competitive procurement exercise were preferential. Hence this option was rejected by the LSHP.