Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I, City Mayor, Paul
Dennett in exercise of the
powers contained within the Council Constitution do hereby:
 
·     
approve an exception to
Contractual Standing Orders as permitted within the City Council
Constitution for the reason highlighted in the table below and the
award of the Contract for the provision of an Allied Health
Professional Therapies for children and
young people with special educational needs and disability
(SEND), as detailed in the table below:
 

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Provision of Allied Health Professionals Therapy for
children and young people with special educational needs and
disability (SEND)

Name of Successful
Contractor

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation
Trust

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Other

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

£1,041,905

Contract Duration

24 months

Contract Start Date

01/04/2024

Contract End Date

31/03/2026

Optional Extension Period 1

N/A

Optional Extension Period 2

N/A

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

N/A

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Karen Smith, Senior Commissioning Manager, phone via
Microsoft Teams

Lead Service Group

People Services

Reason
for CSO Exception: The
goods / services / works are only obtainable from one provider and
there is no other provider available to allow genuine
competition

Tick if it applies

Reason
for CSO Exception: The
execution of works or the supply of goods or services is controlled
by a statutory body

Tick if it applies

Reason
for CSO Exception: Delivers
Best Value to the Council

Tick if it applies

Reason
for CSO Exception: Special
education, health or social care contracts, if it is considered in
the Council’s best interests and to meet the Council’s
obligations under relevant legislation

Tick if it applies x

Reason
for CSO Exception: The
execution of works or the supply of goods and services is required
so urgently as not to permit compliance with the requirements of
competition

Tick if it applies

Reason
for CSO Exception: Security
works where the publication of documents or details in the
tendering process could prejudice the security of SCC and Salford
residents

Tick if it applies

Reason
for CSO Exception: Procurements made through, or on behalf of, any
consortium, local authority, statutory or similar body, provided
that tenders or quotations are invited and contracts placed in
accordance with national or EU legislation.

Tick if it applies

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical
Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter

 

EC: Committed to sign up to the Charter

x

EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer

 
The reasons
are:
The
direct award of this health-based service is provided for within
the new Provider Selection Regime, which came into effect in
January 2024, under Direct Award Process C. Due to the joint
integrated commissioning approach with Salford Locality this direct
award would synchronise the contractual arrangements between the
commissioners and opportunities for partnership discussions about
how to commission this service in the future when current contract
arrangements are reviewed. This service is jointly funded with
health and adds significant value to the delivery of this service
which is crucial to achieving positive outcomes for children and
young people and for SEND inspection.
 
Options
considered and rejected were:
 
Reduction in service
This
is a statutory service to assist SCC with meeting its legal duties
in relation to the provision of Education, Health and Care Plans
and a reduction in the current level of contract would impact on
the innovative neurodevelopment pathway which requires input from
Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy/ Physiotherapy
and audiology where there are already significant pressures
particularly on waiting times as well as reducing overall
performance in meeting statutory deadline for EHCP
assessments.
 
Not filling
staffing vacancies
The
services are fully staffed and NCA has developed innovative
approaches to staff recruitment and development to mitigate against
the national workforce issues of speech and language therapists.
There is no option to ask the provider to not fill vacant posts as
there are no vacant positions. Commissioners have worked with NCA
to ensure full staffing levels to be able to address the
significant needs in our local population.
 
SCC to
consider savings through the Innovate programme
Consideration was made as to whether any savings could be
considered by the Innovate programme. Regarding the programme considering this, it is highly unlikely
given the increasing demand for the services that any savings could
be made.
 
Insourcing
The
service is a health service and SCC does not have the necessary
clinical governance arrangements in place to provide this
service.
 
Assessment of risk
There is no financial risk to
SCC as funding is provided by GMCA through a grant and the provider
is contributing a small shortfall.
 
Decision:
The approach set out in the
report is in compliance with the
Provider Selection Regime (PSR) which came into effect on 1 January
2024 for Health Service Contracts, and explicitly sets out that
health services contracts may be directly awarded to an incumbent
provider under direct award process C. 
As there is currently no provision within the Council’s
standing orders that aligns with the PSR, therefore the
recommendation is to award the contract through an exception to
Contractual Standing Orders. The direct award of this health-based
service is for two years commencing 1 April 2024 until 31 March
2026.
 
Legal
advice obtained from Supplied by Lauren Armstrong – Shared
Legal Service, 16th January 2024
When
commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or
the execution of works, the Council must comply with the
requirements of the relevant procurement regulations and its own
Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s).
 
From
1st January 2024 the new ‘Provider Selection
Regime (PSR)’ specifically for the procurement of health care
services comes into force. This removes health care services from
the scope of the Public Contract Regulations 2015. It gives
relevant authorities (of which the Council is one) three different
provider selection processes to award contracts for health care
services (which includes contracts with a mix of health and social
care services). The regime has been designed to give more
flexibility in selecting providers and to better enable the
development of stable partnerships and the delivery of integrated
care. The regime still requires the Council to consider value for
money and to be transparent, fair and proportionate in its decision
making.
 
PSR
includes three ‘direct award’ processes (enabling award
of contracts without further competition), of which the relevant
one for the proposed award to Northern Care Alliance (NCA) would
appear to be ‘Direct Award Process C’. This applies
where the term of the existing contract is due to expire, and the
relevant authority proposes a new contract to replace that existing
contract. However the new contract must not constitute a
'considerable change' and the existing provider must be both
(i) satisfying the existing contract
and (ii) be likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient
standard. Presumably (ii) would be relatively easy to meet if the
Council is minded to award a new
contract is very similar in terms of scope and volume.
 
The
considerable change threshold is met where:
 

(a)  
where proposed contracting arrangements are
materially different in character to the existing contract when
that contract was entered into; or

 

(b)  
all of the following are established:
 
(i) where changes to the contracting
arrangements are attributable to a decision of the relevant
authority,
 
(ii) the
"lifetime value of the proposed contracting arrangements" are at
least £500k higher than the "lifetime value of the existing
contract" when that existing contract was entered into;
and
 
(iii) the
lifetime value of the proposed contracting arrangements is at least
25% higher than the lifetime value of the existing contract when
that existing contract was entered into.
 
The
lifetime value of the existing contract is calculated based on
“when that contract was entered into”.
Guidance/training suggests that only the original contract term and
any extensions provided for at the point of entering into the
contract are relevant. Any additional modifications (e.g., under
regulation 72 of PCR) are not applicable. The original contract
value was approximately £691,534 for the 2-year period (at
the time it was entered into, without allowing for
inflation).
 
Therefore, the proposed two-year new term with a contract value
of £1,041,905 would not meet
limb (b)(ii) of the considerable change threshold as the difference
is less than £500k, so a further contract could be awarded
using Direct Award Process C.
 
If
using Direct Award Process C then there are reporting/transparency
requirements set out in regulation 9. 
This includes publishing a notice on the UK e-notification service
and observing the standstill period (which begins the day after the
day the UK e-notification intention to award notice is published)
for a period of 8 working days. At the end of the 8th working day
the contract can be awarded. So there is a risk that the contract
award to NCA may not be able to immediately take place if the
Council receives representations from “any provider of the
services to which the contract relates who is aggrieved by the
decision or believes that there has been a failure to comply with
the PSR”. Although the risk of challenge usually coincides
with the contract value/length (i.e., the greater value/length then
the greater risk of challenge).
 
Whilst the PSR includes a provision allowing for the
modification of existing contracts (e.g. variation or extension)
akin to Regulation 72 of the Public Contract Regulations, it is not
considered that the PSR equivalent can be relied upon due the
cumulative value of previous extensions of this
contract.
 
Shared Legal Services is happy to provide the Council with any
required support around the new PSR regulation and to assist with
any drafting.
 
Financial advice obtained from Ian Johnson, Senior Accountant.
The proposed contract payment
in 2024/25 is £555,922 funded from a combination of core
revenue budget (£75,000), DSG (£266,000) and DoE DHSC
funding (£78,297) with the balance of £136,625 being a
budget pressure on the overall Children’s Integrated
Fund.
 
The proposed contract payment
in 2025/26 is £485,983 funded from a combination of core
revenue budget (£75,000), DSG (£266,000) with the
balance of £144,983 being a budget pressure on the overall
Children’s Integrated Fund
 
Procurement advice obtained from Corporate Procurement
Team.
The approach set out in the
report is in compliance with the
Provider Selection Regime (PSR) which came into effect on 1 January
2024 for Health Service Contract, and explicitly sets out that
health services contracts may be directly awarded to an incumbent
provider under direct award process C. 
As there is currently no provision within the Council’s
standing orders that aligns with the PSR, therefore the
recommendation is to award the contract through an exception to
Contractual Standing Orders.
 
It has been assessed the
following requirements set out in the PSR have been met: Key
Criteria - the provider meets the key criteria for: quality and
innovation; value; integration, collaboration an service
sustainability; improving access, reducing health inequalities, and
facilitating choice; Basic Selection Criteria – the provider
meets the requirement in regard to their ability to pursue a
particular activity, economic and financial standing, and technical
and professional ability; Service Delivery – the provider is
satisfying the original contract and is likely to satisfy the
proposed contract to a sufficient standard and any changes to the
contract requirements are minor and the change in value are not
deemed to be considerable (under the meaning set out in the
PSR).
 
Procurement will
therefore support the direct award of the contract for a period of
2 years.  It should however be noted
that the PSR requires the publication of an award notice,
observation of a standstill period and review of any
representations received from providers (by both the Council and an
external panel if required), and that due to the timing of this
award there is a risk that if such representations are made that
the review process may not be concluded prior to the contract
commencement date.
 
HR advice obtained – Not
applicable as external provider.
 
Climate change
implications - The provider, NCA have
previously made a pledge as part of the Social Value in Salford
Alliance as well as Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board who
are the co commissioner with SCC for this service. This includes
commitments towards greener travel for staff and service delivery.
Not applicable.
 
Documents used.
The following documents have
been used to assist the decision process.
·     
0-25 Transformation Programme Plan on a
Page
·     
Salford SEND strategy.
·     
Procurement Board Report 22nd March
2023

·     
‘Special educational needs and disability code
of practice: 0 to 25 years’, Statutory guidance for
organisations which work with and support children and young people
who have special educational needs or disabilities. Department for
Education, Department of Health 2015.
 
Contact details Contact
Officer: Karen Smith, Senior
Commissioning Manager
Telephone number: 07977 196237
Microsoft teams or by
karen.smith@salford.gov.uk
 
·     
The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive
of the proposed contract.
·     
This matter is not subject to consideration by any
another Lead Member.
·     
The appropriate Scrutiny Committee to call-in the
decision is the Children’s Scrutiny Panel
 
 

Signed:   Paul
Dennett           Dated:   14 February 2024.
           
       City
Mayor.
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY
 
*          
This decision was published on 29 February 2024
*          
This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 7 March 2024
unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision-Making
Process Rules.