CGM CRC Chief Execute Chris Edwards

Cheshire & Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company (CGM CRC) is to partner with Mitie Custody Services and Custodial Management in a new £15M contract.

Mitie Care & Custody Health business, which provides forensic medical and sexual assault referral centre (SARC) examination services to a number of UK police forces, has been awarded the contract by the Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner, Tony Lloyd, and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

The pioneering three-year contract comes with the option to extend for two further one-year periods and brings together police custody healthcare and wider liaison and diversion services, a first-of-its-kind in UK procurement.

Care & Custody Health will coordinate the ‘Integrated Health, Liaison and Diversion Partnership’, bringing together three other partner organisations to provide integrated services, including CGM CRC, the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust, and North East London Strategic Commissioning Unit.

The new service will see people of all ages receiving a health assessment at key points within the Criminal Justice System, from police custody through to the court system and into the wider community. The service will support individuals with a wide range of health problems and vulnerabilities including mental health issues, learning disabilities and substance misuse with a view to reducing re-offending and improving individual outcomes.

Chris Edwards, CGM CRC’s chief executive, said: “The partnership, which unites the best of the public, private and third sectors, is preparing to deliver an extremely interesting service that very much links into the localism agenda in Greater Manchester.

“We are really excited about being able to develop our expertise in a new area, especially because the work this partnership undertakes will be of direct benefit to the people of Greater Manchester.”

Seb Stewart, managing director at Mitie, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Greater Manchester health and justice partners and to have brought together a credible, forward-thinking partnership of organisations to deliver fully integrated, innovative services to the police, courts and community of Greater Manchester, supporting better health outcomes for patients, and contributing to a reduction in re-offending.

“This is strategically a very significant contract for Mitie as we expand our presence in the custodial and healthcare services market. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Greater Manchester over the coming years.” 

Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “If we are to effectively reduce reoffending and protect the vulnerable we need to think innovatively about how we commission services. People who find themselves in a police cell often have underlying health issues that may cause them to offend, such as mental ill health or substance abuse, so it’s common sense to bring police and health together.

“I’m pleased we have appointed the Mitie partnership to deliver this vital service, which will provide a lifeline to thousands of vulnerable people, offering help and support to those who may have previously fallen through the net.”

Lord Peter Smith, Chair of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Strategic Partnership Board, said: “This is an excellent example of bringing public service partners together as a new way of commissioning in Greater Manchester in tune with our wider ambition of working better together to deliver better results.

“By joining things up in this way, we will not just help individuals but also our wider communities by helping reduce reoffending.”