Decision

Salford City Council – Record of Decision

I, Paul Dennett, City Mayor, accept the recommendation of the Procurement Board and, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution, do hereby:

·     approve and award the contract to Northern Care Alliance (NCA) to support delivery of the specialist therapy components of the Experts at Hand offer as part of the SEND Reforms, as detailed in the table below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project

Contract award for Northern Care Alliance support delivery of Experts at Hand (SEND Reforms)

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

S2029

Name of Successful Contractor

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA)

Supplier Registration Number

Awaiting confirmation from NCA

Supplier Identifier Reference

(Central Digital Platform FTS) for awards above £30,000 (inc VAT)

Awaiting confirmation from NCA

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by procurement)

151514

Type of organisation

Public Limited Company[CF1] 

Status of Organisation

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

£2,056,579

Total contract value £ (including extensions)

£2,056,579

Contract Duration

31 months

Contract Start Date

01/09/2026

Contract End Date

31/03/2029

Optional Extension Period 1

N/A

Optional Extension Period 2

N/A

Who will approve each Extension Period?

Choose an item

Contact Officer (Name & number)

Emma Finnie – emma.finnie@salford.gov.uk

Lead Service Group

Children's Services

How the contract was procured?

(to be supplied by procurement)

PSR Direct Award A

Procurement Legislation

PSR

Framework Details (where applicable)

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

Provider Selection Regime

Funding Source

Grant

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter

N/A

EC: Committed to sign The Mayor’s Employment Charter

Yes

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

N/A

EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer

Yes

EC: Committed to becoming Accredited Living wage Employer

N/A

?

The Reasons are:

The contract will enable Salford City Council to mobilise the specialist therapy components of the Experts at Hand offer and provide earlier, preventative support to children, young people and education settings.

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust is the existing local provider of the relevant Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy services. The additional capacity must operate within its established governance, professional supervision, safeguarding, record-keeping, information-sharing, referral and escalation arrangements.

The services are interdependent with existing local pathways and cannot realistically be delivered separately. The Council is therefore satisfied that the services can only be provided by the existing provider due to the nature of the services and that there is no realistic alternative, meeting the requirements of Direct Award Process A under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

The award will support timely mobilisation from September 2026, maintain clear accountability, avoid duplication and fragmentation, and enable children and young people to move effectively between early preventative support and existing specialist services.

Assessment of Risk:

Delay in awarding the contract would significantly affect the Council’s ability to recruit and mobilise the required specialist workforce for the planned September 2026 implementation.

This could result in:

·     delayed access to early specialist support for children, young people, families and education settings;

·     reduced delivery time within the time-limited Experts at Hand grant period;

·     increased risk of grant underspend or recovery;

·     failure to meet national delivery expectations;

·     continued pressure on statutory and higher-cost specialist services; and

·     loss of momentum across the local partnership.

Innovate/ Best Value:

The contract award supports:

·     the Salford Local SEND Reform Plan;

·     the national SEND Reform Programme;

·     the Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Programme;

·     earlier intervention and prevention;

·     improved inclusion of children and young people with SEND within local education settings;

·     integrated working between education and healthcare services; and

·     reduced escalation to reactive, statutory and higher-cost provision.

The proposed award represent best value by making use of established NHS clinical infrastructure, governance, workforce, systems and pathways, avoiding the cost, delay and duplication associated with creating parallel arrangements.

The source of funding and financial advice obtained: Natalie Mannion – Finance Manager –  15th June 2026   

The contract is fully funded from the ringfenced Experts at Hand / SEND Transformation grant allocation. This forms part of a multi?year national programme and is subject to specific grant conditions and delivery timescales.

The Council has been allocated £2,093,810 for 2026/27. Nationally, the Department for Education has set out an indicative funding profile, with total funding expected to increase from £429m in 2026/27 to approximately £750m in 2027/28 and £850min 2028/29, with allocations confirmed annually and subject to review.

On this basis, Salford’s allocation could increase proportionately to approximately £3.660m in 2027/28 and £4.150m in 2028/29; however, these figures remain indicative and subject to confirmation.

Robust financial management arrangements will be in place, including dedicated cost centres and grant monitoring through SEND Reform governance, to ensure compliance and that expenditure remains within the approved allocation. Risks relating to mobilisation delays and potential grant underspend will be mitigated through contingency arrangements and phased implementation where required.

Legal Advice obtained: Supplied by the Shared Legal Service – Daniel Howard – 12th June 2026

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or the execution of works, the Council must comply with the applicable Procurement Legislation 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 seek formal sealed tenders.

Whilst exceptions to CSO’s may be authorised by a decision notice there is still a risk of challenge from aggrieved providers if the usual process has not been followed.  The risk of challenge increases in tandem with the value and proposed length of the contract.  In this instance, as noted in the report, the services must be integrated with existing provision, and a procurement exercise would not achieve this result.  It is therefore proposed to utilise Direct Award Process A under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.  The direct award requires the Council to publish a notice on Find a Tender confirming the award in a similar way to a direct award under the Procurement Act 2023.

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 and considered the direct award of the contract to be most benefit and least risk.

Procurement Advice obtained: Michelle White – 15th June 2026

This report seeks to direct award under PSR Process A, where a contract can be directly awarded to an existing provider and that provider is the only capable provider.

Procurement agree with the legal comments above and support the recommendation to award the contract through an exception to Contractual Standing Orders to NCA under PSR Process A.

For Transparency Salford City Council are required to publish a confirmation of award on the Find a Tender service (FTS) within 30 days of the contract being awarded.

A copy of this signed report must be sent to procurement@salford.gov.uk so that the details of the contract can be entered on the contracts register to comply with Local Government Transparency requirements.

HR Advice obtained: N/A as external provider.

Climate Change Implications obtained: The provider, NCA have previously made a pledge as part of the Social Value in Salford Alliance. This includes commitments towards greener travel for staff and service delivery.

Documents

·     Procurement Board report.

·     Cabinet briefing paper: SEND Reforms and Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies Grant.

·     Salford Local SEND Reform Plan.

·     Department for Education guidance relating to the Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Fund.

·     Special Urgency and Waiver of Call-in request relating to the Experts at Hand decision.

Contact Details:

·     Contact Officer: Emma Finnie – Commissioning Manager

Emma.finnie@salford.gov.uk

Please delete from the bullets below any which are not relevant:

·     This matter is not subject to consideration by another Lead Member.

·     This decision is urgent and is not subject to call-in, in accordance with the Decision Making Procedure Rules.

Signed:    Paul Dennett          Dated:    22 June 2026.

                 City Mayor

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:

·     This decision was published on 23 June 2026.

·     This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on OR 30 June 2026 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Procedure Rules.

 [CF1]Type and status of Organisation

Lead officer to complete using Supplier information provided in the quotation/tender