Issue - meetings

Louise Hider, Principal Commissioning Manager, LBBD, presented the report and advised that under Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006 the Council and health bodies could arrange to pool resources and delegate certain health related functions to the other partner to improve the way those functions would be provided. 

Integrated mental health services were being provided by North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) through a Section 75 Partnership Agreement, which was initially established in October 2011 and subsequently extended in April 2014.  However, the 2014 agreement only had the provision for a one year extension so had become necessary to agree a new Section 75 Agreement between LBBD and NELFT. 

To enable the re-thinking of the future integrated service and development of the Mental Health Strategy it was considered advisable that this new agreement should be for one year and it was expect it would take a similar form to the 2014 version.  Due to the timescale it would be necessary to delegate authority for the negotiation and execution of the new Section 75 Agreement, as set out in the report. 

The Board:

(i)  Approved the renewal of the partnership arrangement between the Council and North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) in accordance with Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006, for a period of one year from April 2016, as detailed in the report;

(ii)  Delegated authority to the Strategic Director of Service Development and Integration in consultation with the Director of Law and Governance and the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, on the Council’s behalf, to conclude the negotiation and execute the Section 75 agreement, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health as necessary; and

(iii)  Noted that NELFT were making equivalent arrangements to ensure authorisation of the agreement through their own governance mechanisms.