This report concerns a commission for media buying services, which is a key component of the Cheshire and Merseyside All Together Smokefree Programme which is delivered by the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative on behalf of all nine localities and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board.

The Director of Public Health has agreed to the initiation of a legally compliant procurement process for the buying of media planning and buying services  within an estimated budget of £900,000 to support the implementation of the Cheshire and Merseyside All Together Smokefree Programme for the Champs Public Health Collaborative (Champs Collaborative) on behalf of the nine Directors of Public Health  in Cheshire and Merseyside and the Integrated Care Board.

1.1  Smoking will kill up to 2 in 3 smokers, half in middle age, negatively impacting working life expectancy. As the leading modifiable risk factor responsible for health inequalities, smoking accounts for half the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest. Smoking costs the Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region £1.75bn annually (e.g. through the impacts of ill health, absence, loss of income, premature death), with direct healthcare costs of £75.9m.

1.2  A media-led behaviour change campaign is one of the most cost-effective ways to deliver reductions in population level smoking prevalence. Putting in place an appropriate agency to plan and buy advertising space across multiple formats targeted to multiple smoking audience demographics will assure equitable campaign outcomes.

1.3  Neither the Council nor the Champs Support Team has the necessary expertise to manage, plan and deliver media buying for behaviour change campaigns at scale.

2.1  Removal of the media buying procurement from the programme would result in the behaviour change campaign, which in itself involves significant investment, being ineffective due to the lack of capacity and expertise within the internal team to effectively plan and execute the media buying channels.

2.2  Reduction in the allocated budget for media buying procurement would result in a direct reduction in activity and therefore impact, again rendering the campaign less effective and limiting the return on investment for the development of the campaign itself.

2.3  Should the media buying procurement not progress, then there is a reputational risk for the host authority and for the Directors of Public Health due to non-delivery. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB would also move to recoup this funding from the All Together Smokefree programme.