Content

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 Home to School transport services for the Alder Brook Primary
Partnership Centre, as detailed in the table below:

 

Detail required

Answers

Contract
Reference
 (to be supplied by procurement)

S1413

Title/Description of
Contracted Service/Supply/Project

Home to school transport services for
the Alder Brook Primary Partnership Centre 

Name
of Contractor

MDS Minibuses Ltd

Type of
organisation

(to be supplied by Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of
Organisation

(to be supplied by CoProcurement)

SME

Value of Contract
Extension (£)

£         
687,960
 

Total value of
Awarded (including extension period)

£         
Contract awarded (to date) £1,014,000, 000

Existing Contract
Term

06/09/2022 to 20/07/2025

Extension Period

21/07/2025 to 20/07/2027

Contact Officer
(Name & number)

Steve Titley 0161 793 2435 and Geoff
Catterall 0161 793 3312

Lead Service
Group

Children's Services

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

No

 
The reasons
are:
Background
·        
Pupils attending Alder Brook Primary Partnership Centre have either
been excluded from mainstream provision or have an Education Health
Care Plan with support needs relating to their social emotional
health and wellbeing.

The Local Authority is obliged,
under the Education Act 1996 and the Education and Inspections Act
2006, to facilitate transport for these pupils from school, between
mainstream education. The current contract award for MDS Minibuses
to provide Home to school transport services for the Alder Brook
Primary Partnership Centre, was agreed at Procurement Board on
13.07.22, following a compliant procurement process which resulted
in MDS Minibuses being the sole bidder, but scoring highly
(90%).
The original award on 13.07.22, was
for a contract from 06.09.22 to 20.07.25 (with a two-year potential
extension from 21.07.25 to 20.07.27) at a forecasted total cost
(calculated on pupil numbers and need at the time, and allowing for
potential future expansion) of £202,800 per annum, or
£1,014,000 in total for a potential five years, including the
potential extension.

 
  Recent
developments and current request

Recent developments have seen an
expansion of school provision at a satellite centre provision at
Fiddler’s Lane Primary School from academic year 2025/26,
which will result in the need for an additional 3 minibus routes
(part of the 11 routes for the whole contract).
Both Passenger Transport Unit and
Finance colleagues have judged the cost for this amended provision
to be cost-effective in meeting the Council’s statutory
transport obligations in this case. The transport provider also
contributes added social value as part of contract delivery.

Children’s Services
Commissioning will continue to liaise with Alderbrook School to
monitor the performance of the contract through the proposed
extension period.
Consequently, Procurement Board is
requested to approve the planned two-year extension in the contract
with MDS Minibuses Ltd from 21.07.25 to 20.07.27. A further report
will then be taken to Procurement Board in good time to plan and
provide for pupil transport for Alderbrook School from 21.07.27
onwards.

 
Options considered and rejected
were: re-commission or end
the contract.
 
Assessment of risk: If this contract is not extended, then the
school will not be in a position to provide home to school
transport, in line with the demands of legislation.
 
The source of funding is: core budget within the SEN Access and
Delivery area.
 
Legal advice obtained: submitted by: Tony Ha?tton,
Solicitor, Group Leader, Commercial Legal and Democratic Services
0161 219 6323 on 12/06/2025
The main contract for Home to school transport
services for the Alder Brook Primary Partnership Centre was awarded
by Procurement Board in July 2022 for a period of 3 years with the
option to extend for two further periods of 12 months, following a
compliant procurement and commissioning process which was carried
out by a mini competition under the Dynamic Purchasing System for
Transport framework.
 
It is an established principle that an
existing public contract is capable of being extended where the
original agreement makes provision for the extension, and
CSO’s allow for contract extensions to be made where the
original contract makes provision for such an extension of the
original term. When the Framework Agreement was originally put out
to tender, it was made clear that the initial term would be subject
to a potential extension of a period of up to twenty four months,
hence any risk that any extension granted could be subject to
realistic challenge by an aggrieved provider, on the basis that it
ought to have been put out to tender and advertised in accordance
with public contract regulations and CSO’s, is extremely low,
and the option to extend within the agreement is now being properly
exercised.
 
However, in addition to the extension,
additional services and costs have been added to the contract, but
these are permissible under Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts
Regulations 2015, which provides:
(i)           
“Where there is an unequivocal review clause or option to do
so within the agreement”; or
(ii)         
“(b) for additional works, services or supplies by the
original contractor that have become necessary and were not
included in the initial procurement, where a change of
contractor:
(iii)        
1.   (i)Cannot be made for economic or technical reasons
such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with
existing equipment, services or installations procured under the
initial procurement, or
(iv)        
2.    (ii) Would cause significant
inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the
contracting authority, provided that any increase in price does not
exceed 50% of the value of the original contract.”
 
Financial advice obtained: submitted by: Beth Mitchell,
Senior Accountant 0161 793 3205 on 30/6/2025.
 
The additional cost of £102,060 per
academic year arising from the provision of three additional
minibuses for the Fiddlers Lane route will be funded from the core
budget within the SEN Access and Delivery area. For the
2025–26 financial year, this equates to a part-year cost of
£69,120 (September 2025 to March 2026). This expenditure will
be closely monitored throughout the year, alongside ongoing savings
initiatives and any fluctuations in demand, to ensure effective
budget management and value for money. The cost has been
benchmarked and deemed reasonable and is expected to be more
cost-effective than alternative transport arrangements required to
meet statutory obligations.
 
Procurement advice obtained: submitted
by: Deborah Derbyshire, Procurement Officer, 0161 686 6244 on
11/06/2025
There was provision in the tender to extend
for a further two years to which this option is being taken,
however there has been an increase in the service as
the  school are having to utilise
Fiddlers Lane due to there not being enough capacity at Alderbrook.
The overall total including extensions does not go over the
original contract value by more than 50% therefore regulation 72
applies.
 
There was provision in the tender to extend
for a further two years to which this option is being taken,
however there has been an increase in the service as
the  school are having to utilise
Fiddlers Lane due to there not being enough capacity at Alderbrook.
The overall total including extensions does not go over the
original contract value by more than 50% therefore regulation 72
applies.
 
Going forwards, once the extension has been
completed and as the school has become an academy, the procurement
may no longer sit with SCC as the 
school may choose to  follow their own
governance and procurement procedures.
 
HR advice obtained: N/A
 
Climate change implications obtained:
supplied by: Michael Hemmingway, Principal Officer, Climate Change,
0161 793 3209 on 11/06/2025.
 
MDS Minibuses Ltd, is currently upgrading all
of its vehicles to make sure that they are Euro 6 Compliant as part
of its wider plans to address Clean Air legislation and the need to
reduce carbon emissions.  All new
vehicles purchased are Euro 6 compliant. They have also switched
fully to paperless for invoices and communication.
 
Documents used:

Record of Decision to approve the
award of a contract to MDS Minibuses Ltd for Home to School
transport services for the Alder Brook Primary Partnership Centre,
13/07/2022.
Home to School Transport Policy 2018
and Notice of Executive Decisions, Cabinet, Salford City Council
10/06/2025.

 
Contact details: Steve Titley 0161 793
2435, Commissioning Manager, Children’s Services  and Geoff Catterall, Head of Complex Needs SEN,
Children’s Services 0161 793 3312.
 

This matter is also subject to
consider by the Lead Member for Children’s and Young
People’s Services
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 Children’s Service Scrutiny
Committee

 
 
Signed:    Paul Dennett 
     Dated:    15 July
2025.
           
   City Mayor
 
 

This decision was published on 15 July 2025
This decision will come in force at 4pm on 22 July
2025 unless it is called-in in
accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.