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 approval of a provider to complete annual Care
Act reviews to be procured in accordance with
the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules through an existing
Framework, as detailed in the tables below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Care Act Annual Reviews

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

S1894

Name of Successful
Contractor

Liquid Personnel

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Procurement

06155616

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by
procurement)

151000

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

Approx. £97,500

Total contract value £ (including
extensions)

£97,500 total project value

Contract Duration

6-12 months

Contract Start Date

02/02/2026

Contract End Date

30/01/2027

Optional Extension Period 1

n/a

Optional Extension Period 2

n/a

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Choose an item

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

                      
Donna Dean

Lead Service Group

Adult, Social Care & Health
Partnerships

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

National Framework for the Provision of Clinical and
Healthcare Staffing
Crown Commercial Services RM6281
Lot 4 Social Care Staffing

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s
Employment Charter

Choose an item.
 

EC: Committed to sign The Mayor’s
Employment Charter

Choose an item.
 
 

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

Choose an item.
 

EC: Accredited Living Wage
Employer

Choose an item.
 

EC: Committed to becoming Accredited
Living wage Employer

Choose an item.
?

 
 

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Care Act Annual Reviews

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

S1894

Name of Successful
Contractor

Action First (through Bloom)

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Procurement

08045123

Proclass Classification No.

(to be completed by
procurement)

151000

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

Approx. £97,500

Total contract value £ (including
extensions)

£97,500 total project value

Contract Duration

6-12 months

Contract Start Date

02/02/2026

Contract End Date

30/01/2027

Optional Extension Period 1

n/a

Optional Extension Period 2

n/a

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Choose an item

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

                      
Donna Dean

Lead Service Group

Adult, Social Care & Health
Partnerships

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

NEPRO3
 

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s
Employment Charter

Yes
 

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:
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are
required to review care and support plans annually to ensure
that needs are accurately identified, and that care
arrangements remain appropriate and
proportionate.

Bringing in external support at this time will ensure
statutory compliance and mitigate associated service and financial
risks, enabling the Unify Programme to transition services
from Aspire, NCA and GMMH over the next 6-12 months and
support good quality social care practice.
 
Assessment of Risk:
This situation presents a
significant compliance and quality risk, with the potential
for:

·    
Statutory
non-compliance with Care Act duties 

·    
Inaccurate or outdated
care packages 

·    
Reduced oversight of
individuals with complex or changing needs 
·    
Reputational
risk
 
Legal Advice obtained: Yes
supplied by Lauren Armstrong
This report sets out
the proposal to procure a provider to provide additional capacity
to undertake Care Act assessments and acknowledges that there is a
significant backlog of assessments which have not been undertaken
by the Council’s existing providers. The report highlights
that this creates both a compliance risk and a financial risk to
the Council in respect of failing to meet its statutory obligations
under the Care Act 2014.
 
As such the Council
has urgently reviewed its available options and has determined that
it is appropriate to procure an external provider through a
Procurement Act 2023 compliant framework to provide the required
assessment capacity within the timeframes necessary.
 
Legal has separately
advised relevant senior officers regarding whether the Council
commissioning this external resource would have any impact its
contractual position under the existing adult social care services
agreement with the NCA.
 
The form of
contract entered into with the successful provider will depend on
which framework is used to select the successful provider. Legal
Services can support with the finalisation and execution of the
contract for services following the contract award to a successful
provider.
 
Financial Advice obtained: Yes
– Supplied by Sam Russel
Two quotes have been
received from providers with experience in this area. The prices
quoted by provider for each activity based on completing 250 per
reviews each is detailed in Appendix A.
 
Whilst we could make
assumptions about the number of re-assessments or bolt on’s
required against the overall target of 500 annual reviews this
would not be based on any insights as we are unable to predict
changing needs without going through a review process.
 
It is therefore
proposed that a budget of £195,312 is set to deliver this
work and that close budget and contract monitoring is undertaken
which includes a 25% contingency for additional assessment which
could include Carers Assessments, Continuing Healthcare Checklist,
Reassessments etc.
 
It is presumed
within the budget allocated that the assessments will be split
equally between the competing providers. That all reviews
undertaken will be standard reviews with management oversight. The
25% contingency has been built in to manage any variation in this
review but needs to be monitored closely by the ASC workstream lead
to ensure this process does not exceed the allocated
funding.
 
Procurement Advice
obtained:  Yes – Supplied by Tom
Pyne
The Authority has
been in communication with two potential suppliers who may be best
placed to deliver the work required. Should the Authority wish to
proceed, it must award the work compliantly. The most expedient but
compliant route to market would be to award the work to one or both
potential suppliers via existing Frameworks, Eg; Bloom or
Consultancy Plus. Procurement will support to progress via this
route. Under circumstances where there is less urgency, a tender
process under the Procurement Act 2023 and the Authority’s
Contract Standing Orders would also be an option.
 
HR Advice obtained: Yes –
Supplied by Kate Story
As this is a
procurement exercise for a specific piece of work there are no HR
implications in engaging a provider for this work.  Thought must be given as part of our improvement
journey as to how the annual review work is maintained and built
into the current process within ASC ensuring that the authority is
not in a similar situation next year.
 
Climate Change Implications
obtained: N/A.
 
The following documents have
been used to assist the decision process:
·    
Approval to go out to competition for provider to
complete annual Care Act reviews Procurement Board report
12th January 2026 (Part 2)
 
Contact Officer: Donna
Dean
Telephone number: 07827 321
205
 
·    
The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive
of the proposed contract.
·    
This matter is not subject to consideration by
another Lead Member.
 
 

Signed:    Cllr J
Youd         Dated:   12 January
2026.
         
    Lead Member
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY:
 
*         This
decision was published on 13 January 2026
*        
This decision will
come in force at 4.00 p.m 20 January 2026 on unless it is called-in
in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.