This meeting of the Procurement Board was scheduled to consider the minutes of two previous meetings of the board, and then to make decisions on three procurement exercises. If approved, these would have seen the letting of contracts for the provision of short breaks for children with special educational needs and disabilities; the upgrade of the council's Wide Area Network (WAN); and the refurbishment of 90 Whittle Street.

Short Breaks for Children with SEND

Salford City Council's existing contracts for the provision of targeted and specialist short breaks for children with disabilities were due to expire in March 2025. The meeting considered two reports about the future of these services.

The first asked the board to approve the award of a contract to Salford CVS for the administration of grant funding for short breaks. The value of the contract was reported as £219,567 for an initial 12-month pilot. In the report the council claimed that:

This model of delivery could also allow VCSE services to access additional grant opportunities, as they would not have formal commissioning arrangements with the council. This could allow for more opportunities for children and young people within their communities.

The second report asked the board to approve the procurement of a new open framework agreement for specialist short breaks. The estimated total value of the framework was reported as £1,257,987 per year, for an initial 8-year period. This would have replaced the existing arrangements, under which Salford had been using Manchester City Council’s Flexible Purchasing System.

Wide Area Network Upgrade

The board was asked to approve the award of a contract to TNP, for the upgrade of the council’s Wide Area Network, at a cost of £2,285,021. The report argued that the current network infrastructure was “aged significantly”, and that the equipment in place was “reaching the end of its support life from the vendors”.

90 Whittle Street

The final item on the open part of the agenda was the approval of a contract for the refurbishment of a children’s care home at 90 Whittle Street. The report requested the board’s approval to award a contract to Manchester and Cheshire Construction for £171,903.96.