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:

·      to Award the Contract forNEC Software Solutions, as detailed in the table below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project

Contract forNEC Software Solutions

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

S1133

Name of Successful Contractor

NEC Software Solutions

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Procurement

968498

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by procurement)

271440

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Procurement)

SME

Contract Value (£)

Year 1 - £360,874.00

Year 2 - £371,430.00

Year 3 - £382,303.00

Year 4 - £393,502.00

Year 5 - £405,037.00

Total contract value £ (including extensions)

£1,913,146.00 total project value

Contract Duration

60 months

Contract Start Date

01/08/2026

Contract End Date

31/07/2031

Optional Extension Period 1

N/A

Optional Extension Period 2

N/A

Who will approve each Extension Period?

N/A

Contact Officer (Name & number)

Andrea Beaven 0161 793 3977

Lead Service Group

Corporate Services

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

CCS VAS (RM6259)

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter

N/A

EC: Committed to sign The Mayor’s Employment Charter

N/A

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 current contract with NEC software solutions has been in place since 2015. The Council currently utilises NEC Software Solutions to support several critical corporate and customer?facing functions across Revenues and Benefits, Citizen Access, Document Management, and the Blue Badge system. These systems underpin statutory service delivery, income collection, customer self?service and the secure management of information, and are integral to the effective operation of key Corporate Services functions.

The proposed procurement relates to the continued provision of NEC software solutions to ensure the Council can maintain business continuity, service resilience and compliance with legislative and operational requirements. The systems supported by NEC enable the Council to administer local taxation and benefits, manage customer interactions, provide digital access to services, and support concessionary travel services such as Blue Badges.

The Revenues and Benefits system supports the administration and collection of Council Tax and Business Rates and the assessment and payment of benefits. Citizen Access provides digital channels for residents to interact with Council services, supporting online transactions and customer self?service. Document Management enables the secure storage, retrieval and management of documents associated with service delivery, supporting information governance and operational efficiency. Revenue Analytics provides analytical capability to support financial insight and informed decision?making. The Blue Badge system supports the administration of statutory parking concessions for eligible residents.

Failure to continue with the NEC software provision would present significant operational risks, including disruption to critical services, increased manual processing, potential impacts on statutory compliance, and reduced ability to provide effective digital access for residents. The proposed contract therefore supports the Council’s ongoing digital service delivery and operational stability.

The total for the 5-year contract is £1,913,146.00.

A breakdown of these costs is detailed in the table below:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

RB (incl. Hosting)

£191,639

£197,388.17

£203,309.82

£209,409.11

£215,691.38

CA (incl. Ed-Bens)

£72,818

£75,002.54

£77,252.62

£79,570.19

£81,957.30

DMS (incl. Hosting)

£78,017

£80,357.51

£82,768.24

£85,251.28

£87,808.82

Revenues Analytics

£9,000

£9,000

£9,000

£9,000

£9,000

Blue Badge System

£9,400

£9,682

£9,972

£10,272

£10,580

Total

£360,874.00

£371,430.00

£382,303.00

£393,502.00

£405,037.00

Options considered and rejected were:

Option 1 – Do Nothing/ Allow Current Contract to Expire:

Description: Allow the existing NEC contract to lapse with no extension or replacement in place.

Reason for Rejection:
This option was rejected as it would result in the loss of core systems supporting statutory Revenues and Benefits functions, including Council Tax, Business Rates, Benefits administration, associated document management, and customer access. The absence of a live solution would create an unacceptable risk to statutory compliance, income collection, service continuity and financial resilience. The Board considered this level of risk to be unacceptable.

Option 2 – Procure and Implement a Full Replacement Revenues & Benefits System:

Description: Undertake a full procurement exercise to replace NEC with an alternative Revenues and Benefits platform.

Reason for Rejection:
While theoretically viable, this option was rejected at this time due to the scale, cost and complexity of replacing a mature, deeply integrated Revenues and Benefits system. Market analysis indicates a limited number of suppliers capable of delivering an equivalent solution, with multi?year implementation timelines and significant delivery risk. Proceeding without a fully funded, resourced and de?risked transformation programme in place was assessed as exposing the Council to high operational, financial and compliance risk.

Option 3 – Hybrid or Phased Replacement of Individual NEC Modules:

Description: Replace selected NEC components (e.g. document management or analytics) while retaining others temporarily.

Reason for Rejection:
This option was rejected as it would increase system fragmentation and technical complexity, dilute accountability, and introduce additional interfaces and support overheads. Partial replacement would not materially reduce dependency on NEC in the short to medium term and would likely increase total cost of ownership while introducing further operational and governance risk.

Option 4 – Short?Term Extension Pending Future Procurement:

Description: Agree a minimal short?term extension while deferring a longer?term decision.

Reason for Rejection:
This option was considered but rejected as it would defer rather than resolve the underlying risks, limit the Council’s negotiating position, and create avoidable uncertainty for services, Finance and users. A short?term extension would also not align with the need for service stability and forward planning for statutory systems.

Conclusion

The options considered demonstrate that the risks associated with non?renewal or partial replacement of NEC at this time outweigh the potential benefits. Continuing the NEC contract was assessed as the lowest?risk and most proportionate option to ensure continuity of statutory services, income collection, and compliance while preserving the Council’s ability to plan strategically for any future system replacement.

Assessment of Risk:

Risks of not continuing with NEC

We have considered the risks associated with not continuing the NEC software contract, recognising the critical role NEC systems play in supporting statutory Revenues and Benefits services, income collection, customer access and corporate information management.

NEC underpins the Council’s ability to administer Council Tax, Business Rates, Benefits and associated statutory functions, as well as related document management, reporting and customer self?service capabilities. Discontinuation of the contract without a fully implemented and proven alternative would present a material risk to service continuity, statutory compliance and financial resilience.

Key risks identified are detailed below:

Statutory Service Delivery Risk

Failure to continue the NEC contract could disrupt the delivery of statutory Revenues and Benefits services.

Cause:
Loss of core systems supporting Council Tax, Business Rates, Benefits and Blue Badge administration.

Impact:

• Inability to meet statutory duties
• Increased backlog of cases and assessments
• Risk of legal challenge and external scrutiny

Income Collection and Financial Risk

Disruption to billing, collection and reconciliation processes for local taxation and charges.

Cause:
NEC underpins billing, direct debits, refunds and income-related interfaces.

Impact:

• Delayed or incorrect billing
• Reduced collection rates and cashflow pressure
• Increased manual intervention by Finance teams

Business Continuity Risk

Insufficient time or capacity to implement a replacement system before contract end.

Cause:
NEC supports multiple tightly integrated functions and interfaces across services.

Impact:

• Service interruption or reliance on manual workarounds
• High operational risk during transition
• Reduced service resilience

Implementation and Transition Risk

Replacing NEC would require a complex, multi?year transformation programme.

Cause:
Scale and depth of NEC integrations across Revenues & Benefits, Document Management, analytics and third?party interfaces.

Impact:

• Significant pressure on DDaT, Finance and service resources
• Competing delivery priorities with other major programmes
• Increased likelihood of delays and cost overruns

Compliance, Audit and Data Protection Risk

Loss of established compliance controls embedded within NEC solutions.

Cause:
NEC supports GDPR retention, data anonymisation, audit trails and secure document handling.

Impact:

• Increased risk of audit findings
• Higher remediation and assurance costs
• Potential data protection breaches

Digital Access and Customer Experience Risk

Degradation of citizen self?service and digital access.

Cause:
NEC provides citizen?facing access to Revenues & Benefits and related services.

Impact:

• Reduced online take?up
• Increased contact centre demand
• Reputational impact with residents and businesses

Fragmentation of Core Corporate Systems

Multiple replacement solutions adopted at service level rather than a single corporate platform.

Cause:
Absence of a strategic replacement ready within required timescales.

Impact:

• Loss of standardisation and governance
• Increased long?term cost and technical debt
• Reduced corporate oversight of critical services

Supplier Market and Procurement Risk

Limited market options capable of delivering an equivalent integrated Revenues & Benefits solution.

Cause:
Specialist nature of local government R&B systems and long implementation lead times.

Impact:

• Reduced procurement leverage
• Risk of interim or sub?optimal solutions
• Increased total cost of ownership

Organisational Capability and Knowledge Risk

Loss of system knowledge and operational expertise concentrated around NEC.

Cause:
Long?standing reliance on NEC processes and tooling.

Impact:

• Increased dependency on external support
• Reduced ability to manage change or troubleshoot issues
• Knowledge transfer risks during transition

The source of funding is: Costs associated with the licences are funded by Revenue Budget from Corporate Services.

Legal Advice obtained: Supplied by Carolyn Redford – Shared Legal Services

Date Provided 12th May 2026

Financial Advice obtained: Supplied by Kalesh Bhaskaran – Senior Accountant?

Date provided: 12th May 2026

Procurement Advice obtained: Supplied by Emma Heyes – Category Manager

Date provided: 14th May 2026

HR Advice obtained: N/A.

Climate Change Implications obtained: N/A.

Contact Officer: Andrea Beaven

Telephone number: 0161 793 3977

·      This matter is also subject to consider by the Lead Member for Corporate Services. The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive of the proposed contract.

Signed:    Paul Dennett       Dated:    8 June 2026.

                  City Mayor

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:

·      This decision was published on 16 June 2026.

·      This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 23 June 2026 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.