Decision details

Delivering effective commissioning and contract management is right at the heart of our Transformational ambitions. Indeed, the inputs of the Commissioning and Contracts team are critical to the success of the vast bulk of transformation / improvement projects that are either already underway or planned. The size and scale of this challenge should not be underestimated and there is a clear and obvious need to ensure that the commissioning function is stable and robust in order to maximise its effectiveness moving forward.

Crucially, the move towards the development of a strategic commissioning approach with external partners is a key element of the Doncaster Place Plan. This will include moves towards joint commissioning arrangements where appropriate / achievable. The Commissioning and Contracts team will play a key role in this work.

Provision of £235,000 one-off funding from the Council's General Service Transformation Fund as a contribution to total estimated spend of £553,000 for the procurement / recruitment of additional Commissioning and Contracts team resources on an initial 12 month basis.

This is an urgent need for additional resources as identified by the Improvement Board on 26/09/2017. Therefore, it is imperative that the additional one-off funding is approved and additional resources are secured asap.
Notwithstanding the above, various options are currently being considered for recruitment to these posts, on a 12 month basis initially.