Commissioning

Manchester City Council have just gone live on their new commissioning structure and Macc is in discussion with them about putting on an event for the Voluntary and Community Sector to explain how it will work. The new structure is very different from the old one one which was organised around commissioners having responsibility for themes such as Youth and Play, Mental Wellbeing, Immigration Advice etc.

Procurement laws, or rather the poor application of them, can make a major difference in the ability of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to win and keep contracts. There has been continual criticism of the level of bureaucracy and inflexibility in EU procurement laws and as a result new laws are to be announced soon.

Nigel Rose, Macc's Strategic Lead on Commissioning has written a new blog on whether there really is a  level playing field for organisations applying for contracts from public authorities.

Since April 2013, North, Central and South Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups have taken on responsibility for organising and paying for NHS Mental Health services in Manchester. They have just released their draft commissioning intentions document that describes how they think Mental Health services should look by 2015. You can find out more at their web pagehttp://www.manchester.nhs.uk/commissioning/mental-health-commissioning-… .

The closing date to be part of the preferred providers list for services to Troubled Families has been extended for 2 weeks to 5pm on Fri 2nd August. Applications can be made through The Chest and the name of the opportunity is  "Framework Agreement for the Provision of Troubled Families Interventions". Read more here.

Spot purchasing is a new and strange idea to many voluntary organisations but is becoming more common as public bodies seek to reduce costs. Nigel Rose (Macc's Strategic Lead on Commissioning) blogs about the risks and considerations in developing a pricing plan.

Manchester City Council (MCC) is very keen for organisations to apply for a new opportunity advertised on The Chest to be part of a preferred providers list for services for Troubled Families. The closing date is 19th July. They are hoping that a large number of organisations, small and large, offering a very wide range of services are successful in meeting the basic quality requirements.