Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the
Council Constitution
do hereby approve:
 
·     
an exception to Contractual Standing Orders, as
permitted within the City Council Constitution for the reason(s)
highlighted in the table below, and the award of the Contract for
grant administration services for the delivery of targeted short
breaks and approval to procure a Salford Framework for specialist
short breaks, as detailed in the table below:
 

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Grant Administration Services Contract for the
delivery of targeted short breaks for children with SEND (Ref
S1161)

Name of Successful
Contractor

Salford Council for Voluntary Services

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

1948293

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Registered Charity

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

£219 567

Contract Duration

12 months

Contract Start Date

01/04/2024

Contract End Date

31/03/2025

Optional Extension Period 1

N/A

Optional Extension Period 2

N/A

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Procurement Board (extension >
£150k)

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Rowena Brown – Head of Commissioning and
Partnerships

Lead Service Group

People Services

Reason for CSO Exception: The goods / services /
works are only obtainable from one provider and there is no other
provider available to allow genuine competition

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: The execution of works or
the supply of goods or services is controlled by a statutory
body

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Delivers Best Value to the
Council

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Special education, health
or social care contracts, if it is considered in the
Council’s best interests and to meet the Council’s
obligations under relevant legislation

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: The execution of works or
the supply of goods and services is required so urgently as not to
permit compliance with the requirements of competition

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Security works where the
publication of documents or details in the tendering process could
prejudice the security of SCC and Salford residents

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Procurements made through,
or on behalf of, any consortium, local authority, statutory or
similar body, provided that tenders or quotations are invited and
contracts placed in accordance with national or EU
legislation.

Tick if it applies

Funding Source

Choose an item.

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment
Charter

 

EC: Committed to sign up to the Charter

EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer

 

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Salford Open Framework for specialist short breaks
(Ref S1704)

Name of Successful
Contractor

Not applicable

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Not applicable

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Not applicable

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Not applicable

Contract Value (£)

£1,257,987 per annum estimated
average

Contract Duration

8 years

Contract Start Date

01/08/2025

Contract End Date

31/03/2033

Optional Extension Period 1

Not applicable

Optional Extension Period 2

Not applicable

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Procurement Board (extension >
£150k)

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Rowena Brown 0161 6865765

Lead Service Group

People Services

Reason for CSO Exception: The goods / services /
works are only obtainable from one provider and there is no other
provider available to allow genuine competition

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: The execution of works or
the supply of goods or services is controlled by a statutory
body

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Delivers Best Value to the
Council

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Special education, health
or social care contracts, if it is considered in the
Council’s best interests and to meet the Council’s
obligations under relevant legislation

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: The execution of works or
the supply of goods and services is required so urgently as not to
permit compliance with the requirements of competition

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Security works where the
publication of documents or details in the tendering process could
prejudice the security of SCC and Salford residents

Tick if it applies

Reason for CSO Exception: Procurements made through,
or on behalf of, any consortium, local authority, statutory or
similar body, provided that tenders or quotations are invited and
contracts placed in accordance with national or EU
legislation.

Tick if it applies

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment
Charter

 x tender
requirement

EC: Committed to sign up to the Charter

 x  tender requirement

EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer

 x tender
requirement

 
The reasons are:
Awarding a contract to Salford
CVS for the delivery of a grant programme for Short Breaks Care,
represents best value for money. CVS will deliver and administer
the grant programme and provide oversight of the programmes. It is
in the councils best interests due to the resource demands required
in managing grant programmes. Salford CVS already administer a
small grant programme on behalf of children’s services and
this is effective and well monitored. The council has a legal
obligation to provide a variety of activities for children with
disabilities under the short breaks offer.
 
The establishment of an open
framework for providers of individual care packages will support
with the increase in sufficiency in the local market and allow the
council to have more control of costs incurred for individual
packages of short break care.
 
Options considered and rejected were:
Considering the current
challenges in the delivery of short break care and parental
feedback, a number of commissioning options have been considered,
as set out below:
 
Contracting
arrangements
1. 
The Council establishes a contract with a provider
to establish a block contract for the targeted short break services
and a contract with Salford CVS for the management and
administration of the funding for Community based events and
services.
2. 
The Council establishes contracts with
community-based providers to establish block contract for the
targeted short break services and a contract with Salford CVS for
the management and administration of grant funding for Community
based events and services.
3. 
The Council establishes a contract with Salford CVS
in April 2025 for the management and administration of grant
funding for both targeted short breaks services and community-based
events and services, as a pilot project.  This contract will run in parallel with the final
3 months the existing targeted short break service contracts, to
provide sufficient lead in time for providers to apply for grants
to fund service provision from 1 January 2025.
 
It has been concluded that any
form of block contract arrangements carries an element of delivery
and financial risk. To effectively manage the current group block
contracts, and to ensure the gaps in oversight are resolved,
considerable officer time would be required to contract manage 7
individual small contracts.
 
It has also been assessed that
the distribution of the grant programme by Salford CVS is effective
and enables good oversight of the provision and the opportunity for
consistent feedback approaches from parents.
 
It is therefore proposed that
the Council establish a contract with Salford CVS for a pilot
project under which, in addition to the current community grant
programme, the funding for the targeted provision be administered
via grant funding agreements, with the delivery outcomes matching
the current service delivery. The monitoring of the services,
parental feedback and quality assurance of the services will be
delivered by the grant administrator for a set fee of 10% of the
contract value.
 
This model of delivery could
also allow VCSE services to access additional grant opportunities,
as they would not have formal commissioning arrangements with the
council. This could allow for more opportunities for children and
young people within their communities.
 
Framework
Arrangements

1.        
Continued use of the Manchester City Council
Flexible Purchasing System (FPS) for short breaks
services.

2.        
Establishment and use of a Salford City Council Open
Framework for short breaks services and Continued use of the
Manchester City Council Flexible Purchasing System (FPS) for short
breaks services.
 
Due to the Manchester City
Council FPS being managed by another contracting authority the
Council does not have any control over the process that are used to
manage the framework and cannot guarantee that the current issues
experienced to lack of capacity the within the Salford area will be
resolved.
 
It is therefore proposed that
the Council establishes an Open Framework, under its own
management, for one or more lots (subject to the outcome of market
engagement), which can be specifically designed to be targeted at
building and increasing capacity in the Salford area when and as
required.
 
Assessment of risk:
Risk relates to the
implications if the scheme does not happen or any risk if there is
a potential delay in making the award.
 
The source of funding is:
The Budget that will meet the
cost of the scheme is ‘short breaks, Partnerships and
Commissioning’.
 
Legal advice obtained:
When commissioning
contracts for the procurement of goods, services or the execution
of works, the Council must comply with public procurement
legislation and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s),
failing which a contract may be subject to legal challenge from an
aggrieved provider. CSO’s apply to every contract, including
temporary ones, for the procurement of supplies, services and the
execution of works undertaken by or on behalf of the Council,
subject to certain exceptions listed in the Orders. The grant
administration services contract is under the statutory procurement
threshold and can therefore be awarded as an exception to the
Council's CSO's. It is considered appropriate in these
circumstances for the Council to seek an exception to its CSOs on
the grounds of best value and/or it being in the Council's best
interests to meet its obligations under relevant legislation to
enter into a contract with Salford CVS. The Council undertaking a
compliant tender process to set up a framework agreement will
comply with the Council's CSO's. The Council has standard forms of
contract and framework agreement which will give it suitable
rights, remedies and protections.
 
Financial advice obtained:
The annual cost of the
proposed contract is the same as the annual costs of the individual
contracts that are ending as at 31st December 2024 so
there will be no change in the financial position.
 
The introduction of a
Salford Framework will not adversely impact the current financial
position for specialist short break care.
 
Procurement advice obtained:
Pilot Programme for
Grant Administration
The Council’s
constitution sets out that exception to CSOs can be approved for
Special education, health or social care contracts, where it is
considered in the Council’s interests in regard to delivering
best value and enabling the Council to meet its obligations under
relevant legislation.
 
It has been assessed
that the administrative services provided by Salford CVS would fall
within the scope of the CPV code 85321000-5 Administrative social
services which is subject to the Light Touch Regime (LTR)
provisions. The value of the contract for this pilot programmes is
below the FTS threshold for Social and other Specific Services and
whilst there is always a risk of challenge from an aggrieved
supplier when a contract is a direct award, this is assessed to be
low due the limited period of time during which the pilot project
will operate and relatively low percentage of the total value that
is permitted to be retained by the contracted provider for the
administration of the grant scheme.
Following a review of
the success of the pilot during the contract term, the Procurement
team will provide support and guidance for any procurement activity
required to establish the future contracting arrangements
required.
 
Procurement of an Open
Framework for the Provision of Short Breaks Care
The Procurement Act
2023 and the Public Contract Regulation 2024, which will be
implemented in October 2023 introduce the option for contracting
authorities to establish open frameworks for a period of up to 8
years (subject to the framework being opened at least once in the
first three years and the framework having a minimum of 2
providers).  It has been confirmed that
the anticipated procurement of the above framework will take place
after the date of the implementation of the new procurement
regulations, and whilst all detailed guidance has not at this time
been published by the Cabinet the procurement team in accordance
with the prevailing legislation and statutory guidance at the time
of publication of the contract notice.
 
The procurement team
will also add the procurement of the open framework to the
commercial pipeline for Children’s Services.
 
HR advice obtained: not applicable as externally
sourced.
 
Climate change implications obtained: N/A.
 
Contact
details
Contact Officer: Rowena Brown
Telephone number: 0161 6865765
 
·     
The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive
of the proposed contract.
 
 

Signed:    Paul
Dennett       Dated:     9 December 2024.
           
      City
Mayor
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY
 
*          
This decision was published on 19 December 2024
*          
This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 30 December 2024
unless it is called-in in
accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.