FOI 2026/1733

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information relating to the Viaduct Care CIC Wellbeing & Self-Care / Social Prescribing service review:

1. A copy of the 2025/2026 contract, contract variation, or funding agreement relating to the Wellbeing & Self-Care / Social Prescribing service.
2. A copy of any contract, extension, renewal agreement, or funding agreement for the Wellbeing & Self-Care / Social Prescribing service from April 2026 onwards.
3. Any options appraisal, business case, or decision paper considered in relation to the reduction in funding for the service between 1 January 2025 and 30 June 2025;
4. Any meeting minutes or briefing papers from the Stockport System Finance Group between 1 January 2025 and 30 June 2025 referring to:

* the Viaduct Care CIC contract review.

* reductions to the Wellbeing & Self-Care / Social Prescribing service; or

* anticipated workforce or staffing impacts arising from those changes.

If any information is exempt from disclosure, please provide the non-exempt material and identify the exemption relied upon.

1. Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 states:

“Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it)”.

Factors favouring disclosure.

There is an inherent public interest in ensuring that there is openness and transparency in the spending of public money. Transparency is likely to increase confidence in procurement processes and the purchasing decisions made by NHS Greater Manchester (NHS GM). It also enables the public to understand whether NHS GM is getting value for money from its purchasing decisions.

Factors favouring non-disclosure.

However, we believe that disclosure of the contract could prejudice the current or future negotiating capabilities of NHS GM. This information includes, but is not limited to, detailed pricing mechanisms, activity assumptions, service delivery models, and operational schedules. Disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the providers and the negotiating capabilities of NHS GM, particularly in relation to future commissioning, negotiation and value-for-money considerations.

Pricing information could be used to offer lower prices during tendering exercises, based on the perceived amount that the NHS GM is willing to pay for similar services. While lower costs may appear to be in the public interest, this would not be the case if the competitor was to offer an unrealistic price that they could not deliver in practice. This could lead to problems with the running of the service, which would be contrary to the public interest as it will have to be funded from the public purse.

Balancing Test.

After considering the arguments outlined above, we have decided to withhold this information.

While we recognise the importance of transparency in relation to NHS commissioning arrangements, this is met through the publication of the contract register and summary details rather than the disclosure of full contractual documents.

To support transparency, the following information is available on our contract register (which is available via the NHS GM publication scheme “lists and registers” on our website).

• The name of the provider
• The service area or specialty commissioned
• The contract start and end dates
• The Contract Value
• Confirmation that the contract is based on the NHS Standard Contract

In line with section 16 of the FOI Act please find below a link to the register to assist you.

nhsgm-conreg-feb-25-final.pdf

2. The 2026/27 contract has not yet been issued, as it is currently progressing through the appropriate governance. However, the commissioning intention is to continue the wellbeing and self-care / social prescribing service on the same basis as 2025/26, subject to governance approval.
3. No specific options appraisal was completed for the wellbeing and self-care / social prescribing service. Instead, a full review of all Viaduct Care CiC contracted services was undertaken to inform discussions between the locality commissioner and Viaduct Care provider leads for the contract period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.NHS GM did not direct or request any reduction in social prescribing services for 2025/26.As part of the requirement to deliver system efficiencies during 2025/26, NHS GM asked for all contracts and the services within them to be reviewed. This was to identify where provision could be repurposed or reduced, either due to excess capacity or the availability of alternative options.

The full review of Viaduct contracted services identified activity levels below those commissioned, resulting in recommendations for budgetary adjustments. The implementation of these adjustments was considered by the Stockport Locality System Finance Group in March 2025 and subsequently by the Stockport Locality Executive Board as part of the Cost Improvement Programme on 30 April 2025.

4. Please find attached below a link to the One Stockport Health and Care Board meeting papers which includes the considerations from Stockport System Finance Group

2025-04-30-one-stockport-health-and-care-board-papers.pdf