Decision

Salford City Council – Record of Decision

I Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution do hereby approve:

·      to Award the Contract forMicrosoft 365 Licensing 1 Year Extension, as detailed in the table below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project

Microsoft 365 Licensing – 1 Year Extension

Procurement Reference numbers (DN and CR number supplied by Procurement)

S1080

Name of Successful Contractor

Phoenix Software Ltd

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Procurement

02548628

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by procurement)

271430

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Procurement)

SME

Contract Value (£)

£ 1,265,028 per annum

Total contract value £ (including extensions)

£ 1,265,028 total project value

Contract Duration

12 months

Contract Start Date

01/06/2025

Contract End Date

31/05/2026

Optional Extension Period 1

months

Optional Extension Period 2

months

Who will approve each Extension Period?

Choose an item

Contact Officer (Name & number)

Gary Pickup / Matt Wall

Lead Service Group

Reform & Transformation

How the contract was procured?

(to be supplied by procurement)

Direct Award/ Call off

Framework Details (where applicable)

(procurement body, framework reference & title, start/ end date

Crown Commercial Services Technology Products and Associated Services Framework, ref RM6098

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter

Choose an item.

EC: Committed to sign The Mayor’s Employment Charter

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EC: Committed to the principles outlined in the Mayor’s Employment charter

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EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer

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EC: Committed to becoming Accredited Living wage Employer

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The Reasons are: the extension of the current contract to align with the conclusion of the existing Enterprise Agreement. This retains the Microsoft 365 E5 license model thereby maintaining the Council’s current cybersecurity posture and compliance standards whilst minimising the operational and administrative disruption of a mid-term channel partner transition.

The extension represents the lowest-risk option in terms of budget predictability and service continuity whilst providing sufficient time for a comprehensive tender process in 2026 aligned with the Council’s Digital Strategy and internal [MY]AI Programme.

Options considered and rejected: were a mini-tender exercise with potential transition to a new channel partner.

ASSESSMENT OF RISK: Low. Licensing would continue but across multiple contract agreements that do not have synchronised end dates or synchronised pricing.

SOURCE OF FUNDING: The Budget that will meet the cost of the scheme

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: The Shared Legal Service:

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or the execution of works, the Council must comply with the Procurement Act 2023 (PA) and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s), failing which a contract may be subject to legal challenge from an aggrieved provider. For contracts of this value, the Council would usually advertise its requirements on the Chest portal.

Whilst exceptions to CSO’s may be authorised by a decision notice from Procurement Board for the value of this purchase as detailed in section 3 of Part 5 of the Constitution there is still a risk of challenge from aggrieved providers if the usual tender process has not been followed.

In any event, PA permits sole sourcing and/or direct award of a contract to be made to a contractor in limited circumstances, as set out in Section 41 which provides that a direct agreement can be made where it is based on one of the justifications set out in schedule 5 of the PA. These justifications, for the most part, reflect the existing grounds from regulation 32 of the PCR 2015, covering familiar territory such as “an absence of competition for technical reasons”; extension to existing supplies where a change in supplier would result in a “difference or incompatibility” and “disproportionate technical difficulties” (as here); advantageous terms in an insolvency; and “strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency”.

The risk of any challenge increases in tandem with the value and length of the award, and in this instance, as noted in the report, the proposed extended term is relatively short (a 12-month period). The Council is also under a best value duty to carry out its functions economically, efficiently and effectively with the objective to achieve value for money in all public procurement. Two options were considered including the inherent risks of appointing a new provider and it was considered the extension of the current agreement to be of most benefit and least risk, particularly when taking into account the need to maintain continuity of service, compliance requirements and social value benefits.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Submitted by: Paul Guest – Senior Accountant 23/04/25

Salford City Council utilises Microsoft Office 365 as its core productivity platform, encompassing applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. These services are delivered under the Microsoft 365 (M365) subscription-based licensing model, and are provided via a Licensing Solution Provider (Phoenix Software Ltd). The report seeks to extend this contract for a further 12 months whilst a full procurement exercise is carried out for renewal in 2026. There is provision within the DDaT budget to fund this contract.

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Emma Heyes, Category Manager

The proposed route to market for the renewal of the Microsoft licencing will be via a direct award under Lot 3 (Software) of the Crown Commercial Services Technology Products and Associated Services Framework, ref RM6098, which was procured under Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Direct award is permissible on this framework, and contracting authorities must satisfy themselves that the call-off procedure is compliant with the framework rules and their own internal governance.

The Buyers Guide of this framework states that contracting authorities must ensure that the direct award proposal that you have obtained from your preferred supplier is best value for money.

Framework Schedule 6a Short Order Form must be completed to form the contract between the parties, which must be sealed by legal services.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS:  Supplied by: Michael Hemmingway, Principal Officer Climate Change

Microsoft are aiming to be carbon negative by 2030 and provide a sustainability report for their activities including data centres where Microsoft 365 completes remote actions.  The use of Microsoft 365 facilitates flexible working including home working which means that unnecessary commuting is not necessary resulting in reduced emissions locally.

Climate change implications should be considered as part of the development and procurement of any new systems.

Contact Officer: Gary Pickup, Modern Operations Portfolio Lead

Telephone number:

Signed:   Paul Dennett        Dated:     19 May 2025.

                  City Mayor

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:

*           This decision was published on 20 May 2025

*           This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 28 May 2025 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.