Decision

Salford City Council – Record of Decision

I Councillor Cusack, Lead Member for Corporate 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 award the Contract for the Data Centre and Network Upgrade, as detailed in the table below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project

Data Centre and Network Upgrade

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

S2004

Name of Successful Contractor

The Network People (TNP) Ltd

Supplier Registration Number

07667393

Supplier Identifier Reference

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

N/A

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by procurement)

271430

Type of organisation

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

SME

Contract Value (£)

£167,797.93 per annum

Total contract value £ (including extensions)

£503,393.78 total project value

Contract Duration

36 months

Contract Start Date

15/06/2026

Contract End Date

14/06/2029

Optional Extension Period 1

N/A

Optional Extension Period 2

N/A

Who will approve each Extension Period?

Procurement Board (extension > £150k)

Contact Officer (Name & number)

Matt Wall, Head of Cyber and Technology – Matt.Wall@salford.gov.uk

Lead Service Group

Reform & Transformation

How the contract was procured?

(to be supplied by procurement)

Direct Award/ Call off

Procurement Legislation

PCR 2015

Framework Details (where applicable)

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

Crown Commercial Service, RM6116 Network Services 3

Funding Source

Capital Programme

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter

No

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 Council operates a legacy data centre and core network estate that is more than 17 years old and significantly oversized for its current cloud-first operating model. The existing infrastructure must be modernised to support the repatriation of adult social care services under the Unify programme, the return of Provider Services, Greater Manchester Mental Health services and Adult Social Care NCA to the Council, and to maintain a secure, resilient platform aligned with the Council’s digital, AI and ESG strategies.

The contract will be awarded by direct award under Crown Commercial Service framework RM6116 (Network Services 3) on the grounds of technical compatibility with the Council’s incumbent Fortinet-based security and network architecture. The Network People (TNP) Ltd is the Council’s existing specialist Fortinet supplier and the only supplier on the framework capable of delivering the required outcomes without partial or complete replacement of the existing Fortinet estate.

The proposed approach delivers a secure-by-design, wireless-first infrastructure across the Civic Centre campus, Gateway Centres and edge working sites; protects and extends prior cyber security investment; enables right-sizing of the data centre to a maximum of four cabinets; and supports clear capital avoidance against future like-for-like investment.

Options considered and rejected were:

Open competitive procurement via a full mini-competition under RM6116 – rejected. This option would require partial or complete replacement of the existing Fortinet estate, introduce significant interoperability risk, increase delivery cost and timescales, and undermine prior cyber security investment. No alternative supplier on the framework was identified as capable of delivering the required outcomes within the existing architecture.

Procurement of an alternative vendor solution (non-Fortinet) – rejected. This would require redesign of the security architecture, retraining of DDaT and Cyber colleagues, and replacement of integrated tooling, resulting in avoidable additional cost, operational risk and delay disproportionate to the scale of the upgrade.

"Do nothing" / continued reliance on the existing data centre and legacy network – rejected. This would leave the Council exposed to growing operational and cyber security risk, constrain the Place Directorate’s flexibility over the estate, jeopardise the Unify repatriation timelines, and trigger significant future capital expenditure to sustain or remediate ageing infrastructure.

Assessment of Risk:

Failure to implement the proposed upgrades would expose the Council to significant and growing operational, financial and cyber security risk. The existing legacy data centre and core network no longer align with the Council’s digital strategy or service delivery model, and continued reliance on ageing infrastructure would increase the likelihood of service disruption, data loss and successful cyber-attack.

As cybercriminals, nation-state actors and hacktivists increasingly exploit AI to automate, accelerate and personalise attacks, the Council must maintain a modern, defence-in-depth security posture to protect sensitive citizen data and critical public services. Inaction would also expose the Council to legal penalties under data protection and cyber security regulations and to significant reputational harm in the event of a successful attack.

Key delivery risks have been identified and mitigated as follows: operational disruption during implementation – phased delivery, out-of-hours changes and SD-WAN resilience; cyber security risk during transition – security-by-design and assurance testing prior to go-live; capacity and performance risk – scalable design and adoption of Wireless 7 standards; wireless-first design risk – detailed wireless surveys and resilient design for critical services; financial risk – targeted investment enabling capital avoidance.

Innovate/ Best Value – identify the relevant corporate priorities specific to Salford:

The programme directly supports the Council’s strategic priorities of modernising the Civic Centre estate, delivering on its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments, and enabling the Unify repatriation of adult social care services.

Value for money has been tested through: framework price compliance against TNP’s approved RM6116 rate card and Fortinet’s published list pricing; programme-specific vendor discounting confirmed by Fortinet through TNP, benchmarked against prior Council pricing; avoided cost from not re-platforming the Fortinet estate, redesigning the security architecture or retraining DDaT and Cyber colleagues; and capital avoidance from right-sizing the data centre to four cabinets in place of a like-for-like replacement facility.

Social value will be delivered through Fortinet’s Security Awareness and Training Service: Education Edition – UK, made available at no cost to primary and secondary schools across the Salford borough, supporting digital literacy, online safety and future cyber career pathways for the Council’s youngest residents.

The source of funding and financial advice obtained:

Funding source: Capital Programme – C00223. There is unsupported borrowing within the approved 2026/27 Corporate Services capital programme to fund the cost of the contract. The contract is for a three-year term with an annual cost of £167,797.93 and a total project cost of £503,393.78.

Financial advice supplied by Grace Rogerson, Strategic Finance Manager. Finance has confirmed that the proposed reduction of the data centre to four cabinets will lower overall utility usage through reduced power and cooling requirements, easing cost pressures on the utilities budgets held within Property revenue. The direct award route is considered to reduce delivery risk and support the achievement of value for money, with the proposed upgrades designed to integrate seamlessly with the existing Fortinet estate.

Legal Advice obtained:

Legal advice supplied by The Shared Legal Service. The Council’s Contractual Standing Orders provide that, where a suitable framework agreement is available, it should be utilised unless there is a clear and auditable justification for doing otherwise. The proposed award is by direct award (call-off) under the Crown Commercial Service Network Services 3 (RM6116) Framework Agreement, which is a compliant framework available for use by the Council.

Provided the call-off is undertaken in accordance with the procedures set out in the framework, this represents a lawful and compliant route to market. In the circumstances, a further mini-competition under the framework would not be proportionate or provide additional value. The Shared Legal Service will support the review and completion of the contractual documentation as required.

Procurement Advice obtained:

Procurement advice supplied by Emma Heyes, Category Manager. The proposed route to market is a direct award under the Crown Commercial Service RM6116 Network Services 3 framework, established in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The framework permits direct awards where the call-off procedure complies with both the framework rules and the Council’s internal governance requirements.

CCS Buyer Guidance for RM6116 requires buyers to engage with all suppliers on the relevant Lot and to compare service offerings on the Digital Marketplace against the authority’s statement of requirements. Pre-market engagement with other suppliers on Lot 1a has not been undertaken; the rationale for the direct award is based on technical and operational considerations, with TNP identified as the only supplier capable of delivering the required services. There remains a residual risk of supplier challenge, mitigated by the technical justification for the direct award and the fact that alternative suppliers would not be able to offer equivalent commercial terms or discounts.

To formalise the contract, the RM6116 Framework Schedule 6 together with the relevant Framework and Joint Schedules will be completed and executed. Legal Services will seal the final agreement, and a Contract Award Notice will be published on Contracts Finder in line with transparency requirements.

HR Advice obtained:

No HR implications arising from this contract. The award does not affect Council employment terms, TUPE or workforce structure.

Climate Change Implications obtained:

Climate change implications were not supplied by the Climate Team at the point of submission. The proposed reduction of the data centre footprint to a maximum of four cabinets will reduce on-site power and cooling demand, lowering operational energy consumption and supporting the Council’s wider Environmental, Social and Governance commitments.

Documents

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

·      Procurement Board Report – Approval to Award the Purchase / Contract of Data Centre and Network Upgrade (S2004), 8th June 2026.

Contact Details:

·      Contact Officer: Matt Wall, Head of Cyber and Technology

·      Telephone number / email: Matt.Wall@salford.gov.uk

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

·      This matter is also subject to consider by the Lead Member for            Finance and Support Services (Councillor Youd). The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive of the proposed contract.

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

·      The appropriate Scrutiny Committee to call-in the decision is the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Signed:    Cllr Cusack         Dated:   8 June 2026.

                Lead Member

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:

·      This decision was published on 9 June 2026.

·      This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 16 June 2026 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Procedure Rules.