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 the extension of Contract for Approval for an Extension of Contract for Interpretation and Translation Services and award, as detailed in the table below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project

Contract for Interpretation and Translation Services

Procurement Reference Number (DN and CR, supplied by Procurement)

S1073

Name of Successful Contractor

DALS Ltd

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Lead officer)

06207784

Supplier Identifier Reference (Central Digital Platform) above awards above £30,000 (inc VAT)

Not applicable

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by procurement)

261100

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Lead Officer)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Lead Officer[CF1] )

SME

Contract Value (£)

£          164,000

Total Contract Value including extensions (£)

£          164,000

Contract Duration

12 months

Contract Start Date

01/08/2026

Contract End Date

31/07/2027

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)

Stephen Titley 0161 793 2435

Lead Service Group

Children's Services

Procurement Legislation

PCR2015

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter

No

EC: Committed to sign up to the Mayor’s Employment Charter

Yes

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

Yes

EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer

Yes

EC: Committed to becoming Accredited Living Wage Employer

N/A

The reasons are:

1. This extension period was planned for in the original Procurement Board report that awarded the contract, following an open tender process (see Section 1 in the current report).
2. The provider is currently providing a good service (see Section 2 in the current report).
3. This extension represents Best Value for the Council (see Sections 3, 4 and 5 in the current report).
4. The provider contributes to Social Value in Salford (see Section 6 in the current report).

Options considered and rejected were: to not award the extension.

Assessment of risk: if an interpretation and translation service were not to be in place from 01.08.26 onwards, then the Council would be in breach of legal obligations to ensure that its services are accessible.

Innovate/ Best Value – identify the relevant corporate priorities specific to Salford: The Salford Way: City Mayor’s Charter and Living Wage and Innovate, Salford Community Solutions.

The source of funding and financial advice obtained: Laura Morley Senior Accountant Children’s Services (20/05/2026) and Samuel Russell, Strategic Head of Finance for People, Children's and Adults (03.06.26). The contract provides interpretation and translation services across the Council, including both core and revenue-funded areas within Children’s Services. Charges are based on actual usage, meaning costs may vary in line with demand. Ongoing monitoring of activity and expenditure will therefore be important to manage financial risk and ensure value for money. The forecast cost attributable to Children’s Services is £98,400, based on an estimated 60% share of total usage. This will be met from existing budgets, including allocations for inflation and demand approved as part of the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) in February 2026.

People services including Children's explained above covers 97% of the overall contract spend and any activity will need to be managed closely within existing Council service budgets. Further work will need to be undertaken over the next 12 months to consider next steps around this contract given this is the final extension of the five-year term.

Legal advice obtained: Daniel Howard, Principal Lawyer, Legal Services (20.05.26) Under the Council’s Contractual Standing Orders, where provision is made within the contract for an extension and where the value of that extension is above £150,000, the exercise of the option must be approved by the Procurement Board.

Procurement advice obtained: Emma Heyes, Category Manager (19.05.26) The contract with DA Languages was awarded following a further competition from the NHS SBS Interpretation and Translation Services Framework - Lot 6 (One Stop Shop i.e. providers offering all interpretation and translation services), on the basis of a three year term with options to extend for 2 x 12 month periods. The first extension was approved via the DDN process in 2025. This request is to take up the second extension and is therefore compliant with the original award made. Following approval, the SLA will need to be updated to include the extension period.

HR advice obtained: N/A.

Climate change implications obtained: Michael Hemmingway (19.05.26), Principal Officer Climate Change. At their original appointment DA Languages Ltd were assessed against their plans for addressing climate change and green issues. In their responses on social value, they made the commitment to align with the Council’s climate change objectives. They also have a commitment to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest and leading up to this will offset their carbon emissions via contributions to National Trust to plant equivalent woodland square metres across Greater Manchester. Dals have also increased their use of video interpreting in provision to eliminate travel emissions on some jobs that would have been face to face with interpreter travelling to the Council offices in the past and facilitate staff volunteering at GM environmental associations. They increasingly use renewable energy sources to power their offices.

Documents used - The following documents have been used to assist the decision process:

·     Report Of The Strategic Director For People To Procurement Board On 13th July 2022  - Approval to Award the Contract for Interpretation and Translation Services for Salford City Council.

Contact details:

·     Contact Officer: Stephen Titley

·     Telephone number: 0161 793 2435

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

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

·     The appropriate Scrutiny Committee to call-in the decision is Children’s Services Scrutiny.

Signed:   Paul Dennett       Dated:   22 June 2026.

               City Mayor

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:

·     This decision was published on 22 June 2026.

·     This decision will come in force at 4pm on 29 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