1. NHS Standard Contract survey

2. Use of NHS Standard Contract
Yes
54.06%
120
Group A No
22.07% 49
Group B
A possibility for the future
23.87% 53
Group C
Have you previously been commissioned to provide services under the NHS Standard Contract? (Either now or in the past) 222/222 answered
The survey split its respondents into 3 groups:
those who had been previously commissioned to provide services under the NHS Standard Contract (Group A)
those who hadn’t (Group B), and those who said it was a possibility for the future (Group C).

3. Annual turnover Less than £10,000 2.03% £10,001 - £50,000 6.17%
£50,001 - £250,000
24.79%
£250,001 - £1 million
27.54%
More than £1 million
39.47%
Q21: What is the approximate annual turnover of your organisation? 145/222 answered

4. Areas of work
Q22: What is the area of work of your organisation? 141/222 answered
Mental health52.48%Older people51.77%Disabled people46.10%Women38.30%Carers37.59%People experiencing social exclusion35.46%Children and young people35.46%Men34.04%Families/parents33.33%Black and minority ethnic groups32.62%Specific health conditions26.95%End of life care21.28%Infrastructure organisation18.44%Housing14.18%Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people13.48%Prisoners, victims and families of prisoners12.06%Faith groups9.93%

5. How significant are the following as barriers to VCSE commissioning:
Very significant barrier
Significant barrier
Moderate barrier
Small barrier
Complex, demanding CCG procurement processes
55.07%
114
28.99% 60
9.18% 19
1.45% 3
CCG not using grant agreements
33.33% 68
33.3%
12.75% 26
6.86% 14
The complexity & level of detail in NHS standard contract
53.85%
112
21.63% 45
14.90% 31
1.44%
Answered: 212  Skipped: 12

6. Barriers – size /complexity
“The size & length was incredible!! Very time consuming & onerous”
“Of the 82 page document only 1 or 2 pages were relevant to our small grant. The time given to reading it was a serious waste of time, I can ill afford”
“So much of it was a waste of paper & not applicable, it was often difficult to find the relevance / risk”

7. 3. Considering a short-form NHS Standard Contract
82% of our respondents said that
a shorter contract would have helped
Yes
82.00%
123 No
5.33% 8
Don’t know
12.66% 19
3a. Helpfulness of a shorter contract Q4/Q12/Q17: Would a shorter contract help/have helped?

8. Barriers - relevance
“We provide social services & the contract is geared for clinical services”
“Service specifications are over complex, lack appropriate scope & volume metrics & impose onerous collection of data collection. Critically, they do not focus on patient outcomes”
“The coding list provided includes ambulance, clinical services”

9. Elements which should be included in a short-form version
Key for contract elements:
Service specification and desired outcomes
Quality standards
Pricing and how payment will be made
Detailed requirements with regard to safe service provision and compliance with fundamental standards of care
A requirement to comply with relevant legislation and guidance and to adhere to the NHS Constitution
Requirements to deliver on nationally mandated policy areas such as the workforce race equality standard; provisions about rehiring of redundant former NHS executives; sustainable development requirements; food standards; IT system compatibility
A requirement to submit any nationally mandated data sets
Robust processes for contract management appropriate to the nature of the services commissioned
Necessary legal clauses covering the commissioner’s and provider’s rights and obligations, addressing such areas as liability and indemnity, intellectual property rights, confidential information and information governance

10. Alternatives
“We are commissioned by another CCG for almost an identical service and they have used a grant agreement, which is a much simpler, less time consuming process”
“Thankfully we worked with a contracts manager who agreed to remove the majority of the contract”