Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I, Councillor Youd, Lead Member
for Finance and Support Services and chairman of the Procurement
Board, accept the recommendation of the Procurement Board and in
exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution do
hereby:
 
·    
approve to go out to competition for a new Salford
Supported Employment Service.
 
The Reasons are:
As the general population of
Salford has been increasing, the amount of people on the Learning
Disability register has also risen. There is a significant gap in
the rate of disabled and non-disabled people in employment. In
addition,  the amount of people on the
Autism register has also risen, with a significant rise in the
demand for autism assessments.
 

In August 2022 the Department of Work and
Pensions (DWP) awarded the Council an initial £490,000 in
grant funding to establish a new Supported Employment Service to provide 140 people
with learning disabilities and autism with personalised support to overcome barriers which inhibit people with
disabilities from working. Subsequently in April 2024, DWP awarded the Council a
further £420,000 in grant funding to extend the service to
support an additional 120 people in Salford.

 

Following a competitive tender process
(and subsequent extension), The Growth Company, were awarded the
contract to deliver this new Supported Employment Service for the
period March 2023 to 31 March 2026.

 

The service has supported 261 residents
and is on track to support 30% of these residents into
employment.
 

Over the last six months, consultation
has been undertaken with partners, stakeholders, current and former
users of the service and local residents to consider options for
the service (see below) beyond March 2026.

 

The report recommends a hybrid of options
2 and 3, namely a targeted rather than universal service, but one
which will provide support to a wider group of individuals, namely
residents with learning disabilities, autism and ADHD.

 
The report seeks approval to go out to competitive tender to
appoint a specialist provider to deliver the
newly re-designed supported employment
service on a 2 year basis, from 1st June 2026, at a cost
of £300,000. Support will be provided by experienced and
qualified Job Coaches in
accordance with the recommended 5 Stage
Supported Employment Service Model. Each
participant will be entitled to one to one personalised support
(pre and in-work) for a minimum of 12 months, flexibly tailored to
the individual’s primary needs.
 
It
is proposed to go out to the market in November 2025 with a
deadline for submissions of January 2026. Following assessment and
moderation, approval to appoint a provider for the new service will
be sought in April 2026, with a scheduled ‘go live’
service date of 1 June 2026.
 
Options considered and rejected
were:

·    
Option
1 – would not seek to explore a workable option to provide a supported
employment service in Salford beyond current grant funded provision
and the service would end in March 2026.

 

·    
Option 2 – would look to explore costed and workable
options for a new ‘targeted’ supported employment
service. Any new service would be co-produced with a range of stakeholders to ensure
different perspectives are understood and a collective outcome is
reached.

 

·    
Option 3
– would look to explore
costed and workable options for a new ‘universal’
supported employment service. The service will take the same
co-produced approach as option 2, but the focus will be on
providing a broader service offer to benefit a wider cohort of
individuals with autism and learning disabilities. Referrals
pathways will include ASC and SEND, and referrals from wider
partners and pathways, including self-referrals.
 
In
terms of the preferred delivery vehicle, consideration was given to
bring the service in-house. However, due to the nature of the
service and the expertise required to provide specialist employment
support, it was felt the skills and experience within the Council
was not readily available. Also, the additional costs to deploy
and/or recruit specialist staff on Council terms and conditions
would increase the overall investment required to deliver the
service.
 
Assessment of Risk:
DWP
funding for the service is time limited and ends in March 2026, and
as such there is no further external funding available to support
any additional individuals over this period, thus leaving a gap in
service support for any new individuals until a new service is
established and mobilised post March 2026 as outlined in this
report.
 
In the meantime, during this
final year (1 June 2025 to 31 March 2026), the service will remain
in place and continue to provide wrap around support to those
currently on programme until 31 March 2026.
 
The source of funding is:
Skills and Work (core) funding.
 
Legal Advice obtained: Yes – supplied by The Shared Legal Service
(Tony Hatton).
 
Financial Advice obtained: Yes – supplied by Luba Velychko Accountant,
Place Directorate.
 
Procurement Advice obtained: Yes – supplied by Christine
Flisk,  Procurement Team.
 
HR Advice obtained: N/A.
 
Climate Change Implications obtained: Yes – supplied by
Mike Hemingway, Environment Policy Team.
 
The following documents have
been used to assist the decision process:
 
·    
LMB Report – Supported Employment Service
– Proposed Service Re-design (May 2025).
·    
Supported Employment Service – Stakeholder
Consultations and Feedback (Sept 2025).
·    
Supported Employment Service – Resident and
Participant Focus Groups and Feedback- Docs A and B (Sept
2025).
·    
Place DMT Report - Salford Supported Employment
– New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct 13
2025). 
·    
CMT Report – Salford
Supported Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions
(Oct 15 2025).
·    
Adult DMG Report - Salford Supported
Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct
16h 2025).
·    
LMB Report (Lead Member
for Skills & Work and Business Support) – Salford
Supported Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions
(Oct 22 2025).
·    
LMB Report (Lead Member
for Adult Social Care and Health) – Salford Supported
Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct 29
2025).
 
Contact Officers:
·    
Dave Timperley, Skills and Work Commissioning
Manager: 0161 793 2533.
·    
Alison Burnett, Head of Skills and Work: 0161 793
2535.
·    
Nicola Griffiths, Commissioning Officer: 07811 609
400.
 
Please delete from the bullets
below any which are not relevant:
·    
The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive
of the proposed contract.
·    
This matter is also subject to
consideration by the Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health.
The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive of the
proposed contract.
·    
The appropriate Scrutiny Committee to call-in the
decision is Growth and Prosperity                  
.
 
 

Signed:   Cllr J
Youd          Dated:    10 November
2025.
         
   Lead Member
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY:
 
*         This
decision was published on 11 November 2025
*         This
decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 18 November 2025 unless
it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process
Rules.