Decision Maker: Procurement Board

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: April 28, 2025

Purpose:

Content: Salford City Council – Record of Decision   I Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution do hereby:   ·      approve Salford City Council’s participation in the contract extension of the existing Greater Manchester collaborative contract for the provision of temporary agency workers, as detailed in the table below:   Detail required Answers Contract Reference S1036 Title/Description of Contracted Service/Supply/Project Managed Service for Temporary Agency Recruitment (Greater Manchester Collaboration) Name of Contractor Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd 2Type of organisation (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Limited Liability Partnership Status of Organisation (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Non-SME Value of Contract Extension (£) £5m per annum estimated average Existing Contract Term 29/01/2022 to 28/01/2025 Extension Period 29/01/2025 to 28/01/2026 Contact Officer (Name & number) Sam Betts 0161 607 8602 Lead Service Group Resources and Transformation Funding Source Revenue Budget Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s Employment Charter EC: Committed to sign the Charter EC: Accredited Living Wage Employer   The reasons are: The Council takes a number of strategic and operational workforce planning approaches to maintain appropriate staffing levels and ensure the right people with the right skills, knowledge and behaviours are in place at the right time to meet the short and long-term needs for effective service delivery.   However, a number of external and internal factors, many of which can be unpredictable, unplanned or immediate in need can affect staffing levels requiring a more immediate or temporary solution that typical resourcing routes may not be suitable to offer.   Over a number of years, the Council has collaborated with other regional local authorities and organisations to develop an approach to engaging temporary workers to reduce costs and risks for the organisation when it comes to maintaining the right employee levels for effective service delivery.   Throughout this time Salford has continued to be part of the collaborative arrangements with the current Greater Manchester collaborative contract in place since 2016 - via the use of a beneficiary agreement with Trafford Council who are the contracting authority with the provider.   Salford City Council is not committed to any level of spend via this arrangement and it is a compliant and cost-effective route to procure agency workers as and when required.   The current contract is with Reed Specialist Recruitment which has largely been successful, although there are still challenges within specific occupational groups where there is high demand and a lack of suitably skilled candidates for example, qualified social workers.   As the current collaborative contract came to an end on the 28 January 2025 STaR Procurement, on behalf of Trafford Council and all participating collaborative members, have led the recommendations to proceed with the final twelve month extension available to us under the current Framework agreement, while we continue drives to reduce our reliance on temporary workers and plan for future endeavours, with the view that as a collaborative body we will potentially pursue alternative means of temporary supply beyond this.   The contract extension with Trafford Council commenced on 29 January 2025 until 28 January 2026 for the final twelve-month renewal permitted within the contract agreement.   All Greater Manchester authorities are committed to the next collaboration via the use of a beneficiary agreement with Trafford Council along with Blackpool Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Greater Manchester Police and Warrington Council. The benefits of a single collaborative approach include: ·      A consistent, collaborative approach across GM and other participating partners. ·      An efficient and effective platform for temporary staffing supply. ·      A central control of the supply base including rates (supply chain and pay rates). ·      Reduction to the costs of the process for acquisition of temporary workers. ·      Efficiencies of resources when jointly procuring the service. ·      A lower risk exposure for organisations when there is a need to engage agency workers. ·      Overarching single governance, compliance, performance management and supplier auditing approach. ·      Local and collaborative management information, business intelligence and insights in relation to the engagement of agency workers. ·      A central issue resolution and points of escalation. ·      Consolidated and streamlined invoicing. ·      Opportunities for harmonisation of approaches, processes, and terms and conditions.   Options considered and rejected were: Not to participate in the extension and undertake an exercise individually to source the supply of temporary agency workers. This would prove costly and not achieve the benefits of collaboration outlined above.   Assessment of risk: If the recommendation is not approved, then there is a substantial risk of the Council being charged higher rates for agency workers, and that we would not meet the shared standards in regards to compliance, safeguarding and insurances. Direct sourcing arrangements with individual agency suppliers will grow beyond our span of control, and managing the spend would become increasingly complex, difficult and risky in terms of potential blind spots of activity. There would also be some reputational damage in terms of our participation in the collaborative contracts, which may have implications for whichever resourcing model we explore beyond this contract.   The source of funding is: Revenue Budget.   LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: Submitted by: Tony Hatton, The Shared Legal Service 11/02/2025 It is an established principle that an existing public contract is capable of being extended (or modified providing any modification does not affect the overall nature of the contract), and CSO’s also allow for contract extensions to be made, where the parties agree and where the original contract makes provision for such an extension of the original term.   When the contract was originally awarded in 2022 following call off using the YPO Framework agreement by way of mini competition, it was clear in the procurement and tender documents that the original three-year term would be subject to a potential extension of a twelve months. Accordingly, any risk that the award would be subject to realistic challenge by an aggrieved provider is extremely low, and the option to extend within the contract is now being properly exercised.   Other reasons for awarding the extension are set out in the body of the report, and in accordance with CSOs, where the value of any contract or extension is above £1 million, then approval should be made by City Mayor on the recommendation of the Procurement Board.   FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Submitted by: Paul Guest – Senior Accountant 07/02/2025 This report seeks a one-year extension to the current contract for the supply of temporary workers via Reeds Specialist Recruitment.   The requirement for temporary workers forms an essential part of business continuity and ensures that unpredictable and unplanned staffing levels can be addressed more immediately. The primary use of this contract is for Social Workers within Children’s Directorate and Drivers and Labourers in the Place Directorate. There is an expected contract value for Salford of around £5m per annum although there is no minimal spend level set in the contract.   Both directorates are taking positive action to reduce the reliance upon Agency workers and work is currently on-going on this, which should see spend on agency workers reduce in 2025/26.   There is provision within the revenue budgets to fund the use of temporary workers via this contract.   PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS: Submitted by: Emma Heyes, Category Manager, The Corporate Procurement Team. STaR procurement undertook the tendering of this contract on behalf of all of the GM Collaboration participants. This was facilitated through a mini competition from the YPO framework, which is fully complaint with Procurement Regulations.   A robust evaluation was conducted following the published award criteria, and Reed were selected as the bidder that submitted the most economically advantageous tender.   The original award was made for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for a further 12 months. This request is to invoke the final one-year extension period, which is permissible as it was included within the scope of the original contract. A full re-tender of this contract will be required during 2025 to have a new contract in place for the end of January 2026, and the procurement team will assist with any supporting role to work with the HR&OD team and the GM collaboration during this phase.   HR IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Jess Marshall-Townsend, Recruitment and Talent Manager. The council needs a compliant, timely and cost-effective solution to procure agency workers as and when required.   There is a risk by not entering into the collaborative arrangements of being charged higher rates for agency workers, and that we would not meet the shared standards in regard to compliance, safeguarding and insurances etc.   The collaborative approach achieves efficiencies of resources when jointly procuring the service and overall contract management that would need to be met locally that would have a notable impact on service delivery. It is also unlikely that a local and smaller directly procured contract would achieve the economies of scale or value for money the collective approach achieves.   Equally, we are positive about the ongoing initiatives and drives from both a permanent recruitment perspective and in regards to addressing areas of higher spend with cost-saving and sustainability being the key focuses; in order to continue supporting these efforts a final twelve month extension of the contract will give us a solid foundation to build around.   CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS: No climate change implications have been identified at this point.   The following documents have been used to assist the decision process: ·      Procurement Board report to award the contract 8th December 2021 Part 1 - Open to the Public   Contact details: Contact Officer: Samantha Betts, Director of HR & OD Telephone number:0161 607 8602   Please delete from the bullets below any which are not relevant: ·      This matter is also subject to consider by the Lead Member for Finance, Support Services & Regeneration. ·      The Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive of the proposed contract. ·      This document records a key decision but the matter was not included in the Council’s Forward Plan and it has been dealt with under the emergency procedure. ·      The appropriate Scrutiny Committee to call-in the decision is the     Signed:   Paul Dennett        Dated:     28 April 2025.                   City Mayor   FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:   This decision was published on 28 April 2025 This decision will come in force at 4pm on 6 May 2025 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.