Decision Maker:

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: February 23, 2026

Purpose:

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 the award of a contract for a Salford Supported Employment Service, as detailed in the table below:   Detail required Answers Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project Salford Supported Employment Service Procurement Reference numbers (DN and CR number supplied by Procurement) DN796928 / S1513 Name of Successful Contractor Pure Innovations Ltd Supplier Registration Number (to be supplied by Procurement 05241249 Proclass Classification No. (to be completed by procurement) 260000 - Human Resources Type of organisation (to be supplied by Procurement) Private Limited Company Status of Organisation (to be supplied by Procurement) Non-SME Contract Value (£) £298,802 Total contract value £ (including extensions) £566,839 total project value Contract Duration 24 months Contract Start Date 01/06/2026 Contract End Date 31/05/2028 Optional Extension Period 1 12 months Optional Extension Period 2 N/a Who will approve each Extension Period? Procurement Board (extension > £150k) Contact Officer (Name & number) David Timperley, 0161 793 2533         Lead Service Group Place How the contract was procured? (to be supplied by procurement) ITT Framework Details (where applicable) (procurement body, framework reference & title, start/ end date N/a Funding Source Revenue Budget 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 Yes   EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer No   EC: Committed to becoming Accredited Living wage Employer Yes ?     The Reasons are: The current supported employment service commenced in March 2023 and is currently due to end in March 2026. During which time 261 participants have benefited from support and 78 participants have progressed into employment (as at December 2025), thereby meeting DWP targets set for the programme.   With the service coming to an end, approval was given in November 2025 to commission a new Salford Supported Employment Service.   Following a fair and transparent open tender process, Pure innovations Ltd, have successfully met due diligence and the overall response across quality, price and social value has demonstrated that they are able to provide a Salford Supported Employment Service for Salford, commencing in June 2026.   The new service aims to provide personalised support for up to 60 people per year, this will include support to remove barriers which inhibit people with disabilities, specifically those with a learning disability, autism and ADHD, from securing meaningful and sustainable employment.   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.   As such, approval was given by Procurement Board on 10th November 2025, to conduct a competitive open tender exercise to commission the new Salford Supported Employment Service, and the opportunity was advertised on Find a Tender service and published on The Chest for bidders to submit tenders.   Assessment of Risk: The grant funding awarded by DWP has enabled the Council to provide a supported employment service over the last 3yrs. To date the service has exceeded expectations and supported a total of 261 people. However, 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 i.e. between April – May 2026.   Alongside which, existing formal arrangements with the incumbent delivery provider (The Growth Company) come to an end in March 2026, and there is no provision to extend the contract, beyond the 12 months in the original award, which was exercised in May 2024. As such a further extension of the contract or service is not possible beyond March 2026.   However, 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. In addition, the incumbent provider has agreed to provide additional support to those on programme for a further two months until the end of May 2026.   Any delay in awarding the contract could risk creating a break in the service. It is the Council’s view that Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE)  is likely to apply to this Contract in respect of those employees of the current service provider assigned to the Services. The recommended provider, Pure Innovation Ltd will be required to commit to accepting a TUPE transfer of those eligible employees and ensure that their tender is based on TUPE applying. However, it is the  responsibility the recommended provider, Pure Innovations Ltd to consider whether TUPE applies, and as such the recommended provider should take their own legal advice as to whether TUPE will apply and the financial implications for their Tender.   The source of funding is: The  funding (£350,000) for the new service has been  identified within the Skills and Work budget (revenue budget), . However, ultimately it is hoped that funding for the service can be secured through the GM Integrated Funding Settlement.   Legal Advice obtained: Yes – supplied by Tony Hatton, The Shared Legal Service.   Financial Advice obtained: Yes – supplied by Luba Velychko Accountant, Place Directorate.   Procurement Advice obtained: Yes – supplied by Daniel Cunliffe,  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  13th 2025). ·     CMT Report - Salford Supported Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct 15th 2025). ·     Adult DMG Report - Salford Supported Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct  16th 2025). ·     LMB Report (Lead Member for Skills & Work and Business Support) - Salford Supported Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct 22nd 2025). ·     LMB Report (Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health) - Salford Supported Employment – New Service Commissioning Intentions (Oct 29th  2025). ·     Procurement Board Report – Approval to go out to competition for a new Salford Supported Employment Service (10th Nov 2025). ·     Equalities Impact Assessment – Supported Employment Service. ·     Place Executive Director Report - Approval to Award the Contract to provide a new Salford Supported Employment Service (February 11th 2026). ·     LMB Report (Lead Member for Skills & Work and Business Support) - Approval to Award the Contract to provide a new Salford Supported Employment Service (February 11th 2026).   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 for Skills & Work and Business Support 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 the Growth and Prosperity.     Signed:    Cllr J Youd         Dated:    23 February 2026.              Lead Member   FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:   *         This decision was published on 24 February 2026. *         This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 3 March 2026 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.