Hung council faces £1.3m decision

TOWN Hall bosses at Warrington are due to sign up for a three-year £1.3 million contract to provide drug treatment services across the borough.
The executive board will be asked to approve the appointment of a provider next Tuesday – just a day after the annual meeting of the borough council when councillors are expected to vote in a new administration to run the authority.
If the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition remains in control the board should have little problem in awarding the contract. But if Labour press ahead with their declared intention of establishing a minority administration to run the council they will be faced with a recommendation based on a process overseen by their rivals.
Drug treatment services in Warrington are currently run by the charity Crime Reduction Initiatives.
They provide a service across the borough and also within the Risley and Thorn Cross prisons.
The new service will differ from the old in that it will require users to be discharged from treatment and being “drug free” rather than remaining in a drug treatment system for many years, which is what has historically happened.
A report to the executive says the previous contract had the effect of encouraging the provider to maintain people on medication. The new priority will be to enable people to complete their treatment and stop using drugs.
Three tender submissions achieving the highest marks in the assessment process were invited to take part in interviews.
The executive will be recommended to award the contract to the organisation achieving the highest marks as the drug treatment provider for Warrington and the prison establishments for three years from October this year, with an opportunity to extend up to a total of five years in total.