The Hackney Procurement Board met on 9 September 2025, and approved the commencement of a competitive tender process for two frameworks for substance misuse services, one for healthcare-related services and one for non-healthcare services. The board also approved the minutes from the previous meeting held on 8 July 2025.

AHI S598 Substance Misuse Services Framework - Business Case

The board approved recommendations to begin a competitive tender process for two frameworks for substance misuse services. The first framework is for healthcare-related substance use services, under the Provider Selection Regime¹, with 13 lots for up to four years, beginning 1 April 2026, at a maximum value of £11,155,000 excluding VAT. The second is for non-healthcare substance use services, under the Procurement Act 2023², with seven lots for up to four years, beginning 1 April 2026, at a maximum value of £4,905,000 excluding VAT.

The frameworks will allow the council to award contracts funded by a national government grant, and will ensure that providers are able to deliver high quality services.

According to the report, since 2021, the City of London and Hackney have received grant funding from the national government to help support the reduction of drug and alcohol related harms. Public Health has been informed that there is likely to be continued funding in 2026 and 2027, and it is likely that the funding will be of a similar level to the award received in 2025.

The report notes that Single Tender Actions³ are inconsistent with procurement legislation, so a competitive process must be undertaken to identify providers. The creation of the proposed frameworks will demonstrate value for money through the completion of competitive procurement processes and ensure that the providers able to deliver the highest quality services are appointed.

The report outlines the strategic context for the frameworks, referencing the government's 10-year drug strategy, 'From harm to hope', and the council's own strategic aims, overseen by the Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP). The frameworks will allow the council to spend future grants in pursuit of these aims, and will provide the flexibility to allocate funding in different ways as aims and policy context changes over time. Appendix 4 - Current CDP Aims outlines the current CDP aims, aligning these with the associated public health, community safety partnership, and Mayoral strategic aims.

The report also considers alternative options, including ending the current services, continuing to appoint providers using an STA process, procuring services via individual competitive processes, and wrapping grant funding into the core substance misuse service via a variation. These options were rejected for various reasons, including the detrimental impact on service users, non-compliance with procurement legislation, and the potential loss of funding.

An insourcing appraisal has been completed, and the first two years of the framework will be used to develop more detailed costs and further investigate the potential for insourcing all or parts of this service in the future.

The report details the success criteria, key drivers, and indicators for the frameworks, including increasing the number of individuals accessing substance use treatment, increasing the number of individuals making significant improvements in treatment, and decreasing the incidence of criminality and antisocial behaviour related to drug and alcohol use.

The report outlines the sustainability issues and opportunities, net zero and social value benefits of the frameworks, including delivering frameworks which are designed to give local, community based, organisations a better chance to deliver services, ensuring that there is continued investment in organisations that support vulnerable and excluded communities across City and Hackney.

The report includes an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA), which reflects a positive impact for currently underserved and underrepresented communities in drug and alcohol treatment.

The report details the proposed procurement arrangements, including the use of a competitive procedure for the healthcare framework and an open procedure for the non-healthcare framework. The report also outlines the procurement project management, resources, and key milestones for the frameworks.

The report notes that the use of lots will increase the opportunity for local, community based organisations to participate in the tender exercise, and that this should also help achieve better outcomes within the specified contracts, as community based organisations are often best placed to help identify routes to engaging with individuals.

The report outlines the contract management arrangements for the frameworks, including quarterly monitoring meetings, scrutiny of performance in Combating Drugs Partnership Working Groups and the Strategy Group, and the use of the council's Corporate Contract Management system.

Appendix 3 - 2025-08-07Substance Misuse FrameworkKey Performance Indicators - Sheet 1 details the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the contracts to be awarded for the first year.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The board approved the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 July 2025 as an accurate record of proceedings.