Public Document Pack

Procurement Board

Dear Member,

You are invited to attend the meeting of the Procurement Board to be held as follows for the transaction of the business indicated. Miranda Carruthers-Watt Proper Officer

DATE: Wednesday, 9 January 2019

TIME: 10.00 am

VENUE: The Boardroom, Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton

In accordance with ‘The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014,’ the press and public have the right to film, video, photograph or record this meeting.

AGENDA

1 Apologies for absence

2 Declarations of interest

3 To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held (Pages 1 - 4) on 12 December 2018

4 Matters arising

5 Decision items - Part 1 (open to the public)

5a Request for Approval - Contract Award - Storage Area Network (Pages 5 - 10) Refresh

5b Request for Approval - Contract Extension - Foundations Support & (Pages 11 - 40) Care Services

5c Request for Approval - Exception to Contractual Standing Orders - (Pages 41 - 52) Communities of Identity

5d Request for Approval - Exception to Contractual Standing Orders - (Pages 53 - 90) Contract for Archaeological Planning Services for the 10 GM Authorities

5e Request for Approval - Appointment of Contractors under the Minor (Pages 91 - 98) Works Framework Agreements.

6 Any other business - Part 1 (open to the public) 7 Exclusion of the public

8 Decision items - Part 2 (closed to the public)

9 Date and time of next meeting

Wednesday 23 January 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in the Boardroom, , Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, M27 5DA.

Contact Officer: Tel No: 0161 793 3316 Carol Eddleston, Senior Democratic Services E-Mail: [email protected] Advisor Agenda Item 3

PROCUREMENT BOARD

12 December 2018

Meeting commenced: 10:05 a.m. Meeting ended: 11:00 a.m.

PRESENT: Councillors Bill Hinds (in the chair) and City Mayor Paul Dennett

IN ATTENDANCE: Opu Anwar Infrastructure Team Simon Cook Associate Director – Urban Vision Chris Hesketh Head of Financial Management David Hunter Assistant Director ICT Rhys Morris Engineer – Urban Vision Paul Nugent Head of Strategic Procurement Cliff Peacock Risk and Insurance Manager Neil Watts Electoral Services Manager Carol Eddleston Senior Democratic Services Advisor

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Boshell and Merry.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

3. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2018 were approved as a correct record.

4. MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising.

ITEMS FOR DECISION – PART 1

5. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL – CONTRACT AWARD – ELECTORAL SERVICES PRINTING

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Service Reform seeking approval to award the contract for Electoral Services printing.

It was confirmed that ERS Limited had provided a very satisfactory service in the course of the current contract and had built in Social Value and lowered the price in its tender submission. Social value would be closely monitored throughout the contract.

Page | 1 Page 1 The board noted that the company was based in London and wondered what might be done to develop the market locally, especially given that the total value of the contract across the region could be well in excess of £1million. With this in mind, the Electoral Services Manager confirmed that he would be happy to discuss this with AGMA colleagues to ascertain what potential capacity and capability there might be among local printing and reprographic companies.

RESOLVED: THAT, a 24 months contract be awarded to ERS Limited, for the provision of Electoral Services printing, with an estimated average value of £145,000 per annum.

6. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL TO APPOINT – CENTENARY CIRCLE AND CENTENARY WAY – HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT WORKS

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Director Place seeking approval to appoint a contractor to carry out the works for the Centenary Circle and Centenary Way highway safety scheme project and approve the fees for the additional required works and services.

It was confirmed that there had been a number of incidents recently where street furniture had been struck by vehicles. These incidents tended not to be reported or registered by the police so the drivers responsible were not identified and costs were not recovered.

The board was informed that there was an approved Highways Block 3 capital grant allocation for the works for 2018/19 so the timing of the works was critical. Three companies had submitted tenders and these had all been fully evaluated. The board had previously queried the level of fees and depot overheads in relation to works carried out by Urban Vision but was assured that direct allocation of works had a number of benefits.

RESOLVED: THAT, (1) Urban Vision Highway Services be appointed to carry out the Centenary Circle and Centenary Way highway safety scheme works at a target price of £216,459.19, and (2) the following additional fees associated with the above works be approved: Supervision and Road Safety Audits - £13,605.19 – Urban Vision Professional Services, and Carriageway coring and material testing for Tar content – £600.00 - MATest Midlands Limited.

7. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL – INSURANCE POLICY AND COVER RENEWAL EXPENDITURE – LIABILITY, PROPERTY & MOTOR FLEET INSURANCE ARRANGEMENTS

Consideration was given to a report of the City Solicitor seeking approval of the 2019 expenditure of the catastrophe cover insurance for the council’s main classes of insurance including liability, property and motor fleet.

It was explained that whilst the 2019 liability and motor premiums remained unchanged, the overall 3% increase when compared with 2018 figures reflected an increase in the volume of property assets that required cover.

Page | 2 Page 2 Discussions had been held across the region about the potential savings from aggregating procurement but it was accepted that (a) high value claim(s) from any one authority would impact negatively on the others.

RESOLVED: THAT, the renewal expenditure for 2019 for catastrophe cover for the Council’s main classes of insurance, including liability, property and motor fleet, be approved.

Page | 3 Page 3 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 5a

Part 1 ITEM NO.

______

REPORT OF

The Strategic Director for Service Reform

TO

Procurement Board

ON

9th January 2019

______

TITLE: Approval to Award the Contract Storage Area Network Refresh ______

RECOMMENDATION:

That Procurement Board

Approve the award of the Contract for refresh of the Council’s storage area network and maintenance as detailed below

Detail required Title/Description of Contracted Storage Area Network Refresh Service/Supply/Project Name of Successful Contractor ANS Group Limited Supplier Registration Number 1569256 (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Type of organisation Private Limited Company (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Status of Organisation Non-SME (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Contract Value £409,101.17 Full Project Contract Duration 36 months Contract Start Date 21/01/2019 Contract End Date 20/01/2022 Optional Extension Period 1 0 months Optional Extension Period 2 months Who will approve each Extension Choose an item. Period? Contact Officer (Name & number) Jon Burt Lead Service Group Customer & Support Services

Page 5 How the contract was procured? Framework Call-off (Mini Competition) (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Framework Details (where applicable) Crown Commercial Services Technology (Procurement Body, Framework Reference & Products 2 (RM 3733) framework Title, Start/End Dates, Hyperlink, etc.) Funding Source Capital Programme

______

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The purpose of this report is to seek approval for the award of the above mentioned contract. ______

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

Report to Procurement Board 18th October 2017 stating planned procurement activities Appendix B

2018/19 Capital Programme Report

______

KEY DECISION:

Yes ______

DETAILS:

1. Background,

The Storage Area Network stores all data held by the City Council and organisations supported by SCC ICT Services. This includes user files, servers and system data for all services, therefore this is a critical element of the ICT Data Centre infrastructure.

The current platform had a similar refresh 3 years ago with the original platform installed in 2012 as part of a wider total transformation of the Data Centre infrastructure. The partial refresh allows for new controllers and End of Support elements to be changed whilst keeping the majority of the disk drives in place and purchasing support and maintenance up front. This attracts larger discounts from the manufacture than simply extending the maintenance agreements breaking even after two years typically.

SCC ICT Services are currently architecting the next generation of Data Centre infrastructure which will based on a migration to Public Cloud, this will likely take at

Page 6 least three years to migrate to therefore the refresh of the storage area network within the data centre is required to support the current architecture.

2. The Procurement Process

All quotations have been sourced from the Crown Commercial Services framework, Lot 1 (Hardware) Technology Products 2 (RM 3733).

All 29 companies on Lot 1 were invited to submit bids through the Chest, and 1 bid was received.

The evaluation was split as 50% on price and 50% on quality, and the final scores were attributed as follows;

Name of Bidder % Quality % Price %Overall score score Score 50% 50% 100%

Bidder 1 41.0% 50% 91.0%

The single supplier exceeds the minimum score stipulated in the tender documentation and is the incumbent supplier alleviating any capability concerns.

Page 7 ______

KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: N/A ______

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS: N/A ______

ASSESSMENT OF RISK: The risk of not proceeding with this purchase is that the City Council will be running the storage platform with no maintenance agreement in place or unable to extend maintenance for some elements of the platform in the next financial year ______

SOURCE OF FUNDING: The storage area network refresh will be sourced from the data centre refresh capital programme bid. ______

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Tony Hatton, Principal Solicitor, tel. 219 6323

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services, or the execution of works, the Council must comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s), failing which a contract may be subject to legal challenge from an aggrieved provider. The proposed award of the contract follows a tender exercise by mini competition in accordance with the process set out in the Crown Commercial Services Technology Products 2 (RM 3733) framework, which itself was procured in accordance with CSO’s, which will help to ensure that the risk of challenge to the award of contract to ANS Group Limited is minimal and that any challenge, should it materialise, is extremely unlikely to be successful.

The purpose of a framework agreement is to select through a procurement/ evaluation process a number of providers who can meet the service requirements of the Council, as and when those services are required. If they are required then the Council will undertake an exercise to call off the services from one or more of the providers who have been selected to be on the framework and this may be through any number of ways such as mini-competition or direct allocation, depending on the circumstances. A contract will then be formed between the Council and the chosen provider/s.

The Council will need to have followed the procedure set out in the framework agreement to ensure the procurement process is compliant. In any event only one tender was received from framework suppliers for this project, which has been evaluated in accordance with published criteria resulting in the proposed award of the contract to ANS Group Limited. The procurement procedures therefore appear robust and compliant with the requirements of CSO’s and PCR.

Legal Services will assist with preparing any contractual documentation upon receipt of instructions to ensure the Council’s position and interest are protected.

Page 8 ______

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Submitted by: Joanne Garvin Ext 2793

The funding is expected to come from the current capital Technology Refresh programme for 2018/19, It is anticipated that expenditure will be within the programmed level.

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS: Submitted by: Emma Heyes, Category Manager, The Corporate Procurement Team ext 6243

This procurement was run through a mini-competition under Lot 1 Hardware of the Crown Commercial Services Technology Products 2 (RM 3733) framework, which commenced on 31st October 2016 and expires on 30th October 2019.

The framework is fully compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and a mini-competition was held between the 29 suppliers on Lot 1, and all suppliers were invited to bid via The Chest.

The mini-competition was initially advertised in September however only one bid received by the closing date. It was advertised for a second time in October giving bidders more time to respond, however unfortunately there was still only one bid submitted.

The bid received was evaluated using the published award criteria as outlined in the invitation to tender documents.

The tender process followed is complaint with Salford City Council’s Contractual Standing Orders

A 10-day standstill period should be given to allow for any challenge to the award decision.

Once the final award has been made, the CCS framework call-off contract will need to be completed with assistance from legal services, as the value of the contract is above £75k the contract will need to be sealed.

OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: N/A ______

CONTACT OFFICER: Jon Burt TEL. NO. 607 1983 ______

WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): N/A ______

Page 9 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 5b

Part 1 – Open to the public ITEM NO.

REPORT OF

The Strategic Director for Children’s Services

TO

Procurement Board

ON

12.12.18

TITLE: Approval for an Extension of Contract for Foundations Support & Care Services

RECOMMENDATION: That the Procurement Board approves the extension of Contract for the combined below services. ‘Service A’ Supported accommodation for vulnerable young people who are homeless, have a learning disability or are care leavers. (Known as ) ‘Service B’ Supported accommodation service for care leavers (Known as Lane End)

Detail required Example Contract Reference Title/Description of Contracted ‘Service A’ Supported accommodation for Service/Supply/Project vulnerable young people who are homeless, have a learning disability or are care leavers. (AKA Claremont)

‘Service B’ Supported accommodation service for care leavers. ( AKA Lane End) Name of Contractor Foundation UK Ltd. Type of organisation Private Limited Company (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Status of Organisation SME (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Value of Contract Extension £457,106,94 Per Annum (estimated average) Existing Contract Term 01/01/2016 to 31/03/2019 Extension Period Requested 01/04/2019 to 31/03/2021 2yrsContact Officer (Name & number) Jane Wright 603 4196 Lead Service Group Children's Services

Funding Source Revenue Budget

Page 11 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The purpose of this report is to seek request a 2 year extension to contract for Foundations Support and Care Services Ltd.

‘Service A’ Supported accommodation for vulnerable young people who are homeless, have a learning disability or are care leavers. (AKA Claremont)

‘Service B’ Supported accommodation service for care leavers (AKA Lane End)

There is provision within the current contract to extend the agreement for a further period from 1.4.19 to 31.3.21

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

Placements North West Supported and Independent Living Services (SaiLS) Placements report September 2017– An analysis of purchased placements for post 16 care leavers and young homeless. This illustrates the cost and purchasing trends of the independent market across the North West.

Supported and Independent Living Services Placements Report (Sept 17).docx

KEY DECISION: YES

Yes (Total contract value is £457,106, 94 per annum)

DETAILS:

This contract is a relatively recent merger (Operational for the past 3 years) of two 16+ provisions delivered by Foundations Ltd over two sites.

Service A – Claremont Road is a five bed provision delivering supported accommodation for vulnerable 16 – 25 year old young people who are homeless, have a learning disability or are care leavers.

Service B – Lane End has eight beds and one emergency bed and offers supported accommodation to 16+ care leavers

How this choice represents best value to the Council

This provider has responded well to the changes involved in operating to a more structured commission with thorough monitoring and outcome measures in place. They have worked hard to adapt to this evidence based approach and have been open and responsive to new ways of working.

Page 12 2 This service is meeting all the requirements of the service specification and has in some areas exceeded expectations. For example they have consistently maintained high occupancy rates, minimising voids which would impact on the cost per bed per week. The Claremont provision have established a vegetable garden and young people are involved in the planting, maintaining and harvesting of home grown produce. This is something we have not seen in any other 16+ provision.

This was the first harvest from the Claremont vegetable garden.

Referrals to the Foundations homes are matched carefully through close liaison with the Next Steps Leaving Care Manager and all young people attend an interview with Directors before a placement is offered. This thorough vetting and matching process maximises the likelihood of a placement being successful and so notice on placements is rarely served.

The placement finding team have been involved in commissioning a number of 16+ placements for homeless young people and have undertaken vetting visits to all of these provisions. The view of the team is that the quality of external16+ provision tends to be much poorer than Ofsted regulated provisions.

We believe the Foundations provisions at both Lane End and Claremont offer an outstanding service to young people in comparison to the placements we have commissioned externally.

Page 13 3 Some external placements have been labour intensive from a commissioning perspective. We have a number of examples of poorly managed services for example :-

 Providers unable to deliver what was commissioned.  Providers offering poor employment terms and conditions to their staff.  Serving notice on placements very soon after placement.  Poor leadership for example lacking in presence and day to day involvement.  Whole staff teams on zero hours contracts (not by choice).  Staff who are not inducted appropriately.  Staff who have not undertaken any training with no background/experience in the sector and have little or no previous experience.  High staff turnover.  Not delivering to the Statement of Purpose.  Low quality poorly maintained buildings.  Little or no background in the care sector or in regulated provisions from which to draw upon.

In addition to the time involved in monitoring these provisions there is little evidence that the support and guidance from commissioners and from PNW has impacted to make improvements.

Historical data enables a confident projection of need for SaILS provision. Salford’s looked after population has risen in the last twelve months (see table below) which is a 10% rise and is likely to impact going forward on the placement needs for post 16 provision.

Timescale Number of 16+ placements made From April 2017 to March 2018 570 From April 2016 to March 2017 518 From April 2015 to March 2016 552 From April 2014 to March 2015 587

Social Value

This provider was an early adopter and one of over 100 employers signed up to the City Mayors Employment Charter which demonstrated a commitment to work towards creating sustainable employment opportunities and raise the skills level of the Salford workforce. One of the significant commitments of employers was to work towards paying staff the Salford Living Wage and Foundations are meeting this for all of their staff.

Foundations now have the literature about the refreshed version of the City Mayors Employment Charter and are aware that the refreshed version requires providers to pledge specific action. The Skills and Work team have plans in place to re-visit providers already signed up and to support them towards achieving either Charter Supporter or Charter Mark status. I have no doubt that they will engage again with this initiative as there are a number of elements of the charter where they are already demonstrating compliance.

Page 14 4 This provider has signed up to the 10% better initiative and made this pledge

There are a number of outcomes indicators and measurements which form part of the service specification. The quarterly monitoring format uses a self- assessment model and is a combination of quantitative and qualitative information gathering. This is now well established and delivery has been so consistent that we have been able to reduce the number of monitoring visits to twice a year and so save on officer time whilst maintaining an excellent level of service to young people.

Why an extension is in the best interest of the Council to not go out to competition.

The cost of this contract benchmarked against the North West commissioned Semi and Independent Living Services (SaILS) report September 2017 demonstrates good value.

The average weekly cost of a SaILS placement (excluding block contract arrangements) in the North West is £1,191 against the current Foundations cost of £774 per week, a difference/saving of £417 per week per placement.

16+ is an area of provision which is growing and a significant number of providers are entering the market. The framework is usually open to new applications on a quarterly basis. For example in Q4 of 2017 there were 20 new applicants and in Q1 of 2018 a further 24 applicants. On 30.8.18 Placements North West noted that there had been an influx of poor to average suppliers attempting to join the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). A consultation with North West commissioners will take place to develop a sustainable and robust plan for the future DPS. In order to carry out the review, new applications to the framework have been suspended from 14.9.18.

The Salford position is that we have made 31 placements to the framework since July 2017 and the average cost has been £846.97. It could be said that the small and dedicated commissioning team have been able to develop a good intelligence in relation to the market and have therefore been able to negotiate a keener price than our neighbouring authorities.

The cost of the 31 placements mentioned above is £485,420.36. If we had paid the PNW average the cost would have been £679,550.57 which demonstrates a saving of £194,130.21.

It is beneficial that both the Lane End and Claremont provisions are located within the City which enables easy access for pathway advisors social workers and other professionals and vice versa for young people to be able to attend Next Steps offices easily. In addition it keeps young people close to family members and friends within the City. Of the 31 placements mentioned above, all but 1 of these was outside of the City, in some neighbouring boroughs, and some wider North West towns, namely; Manchester, Bury, Stockport, Bolton, Huddersfield, Blackburn, St. Helens and Wigan.

Page 15 5 Below in blue italics are a selection of comments directly from young people at Lane End and Claremont taken from exit interviews (one of the KPI’s) which are undertaken when young people move on.

I like living at Claremont Road because there is always someone around when you need a chat. I get on with all the staff good. I have achieved a lot in a year and a half like attending college. I still want some help managing my money and want to carry on living here until I am ready to move into my own flat.

The service that you provide is great. Facilities are excellent. Staff are really hard working at support and I enjoy key working sessions. Overall living at Foundations is fantastic. Over the past year and a half I have learned new skills like cooking and how to keep myself clean and my areas i.e. bedroom. I enjoy the experience of living around other young people. I'd like to stay for possibly another year.

Foundations helped me a lot, I wouldn't change anything about my support.

Thank You for having me.

My time at Foundations was good and staff were really helpful and always there if you needed to talk to someone.

The staff helped me, supported me and I wouldn't have what I have if it wasn't for them.

Below in blue italics are comments from Next Steps pathway advisors who are qualified social workers specifically working with 16+ young people and so have good experience of the support provisions for this age group.

They really are an excellent organisation who offer fantastic support and are such a valuable resource for the vulnerable young people we support.

The best thing about Lane End is how they manage to create a homely/ family atmosphere, despite it being shared living, semi-independent living and having their own flats! Many of the young people I worked with return to visit them many years down the line as they formed really good relationships with the staff and I think they felt the team were part of their positive care experiences.

I just wanted to let you know that Foundations have agreed to interview my young person next week. They are prepared to assess and consider him for either Claremont or Lane End which I am really pleased about given the excellent level of support my young people have received from Foundations in the past. I am sure that he will do very well in progressing his independence at either of these units as they both have a very experienced and stable staff team that respond very well when managing the young people’s support needs. I will update you after his interview.

I feel the service they provide for our young people is excellent and the outcomes speak for themselves. The staff are proactive in supporting young people in their role of preparing the young people for independent living. Aside from developing young people’s independent living skills they allow young people to make their own

Page 16 6 choices, even if this means taking the wrong decision, what they excel at is always being there for the young person after this may have occurred and supporting them going forward.

They have worked with some very difficult and challenging young people at very short notice and there approach to working with these young people is always positive despite having to be very flexible. Having spoken with young people who have resided at Lane End they speak well of the support they have received, even if the placement ended abruptly.

Using the Lane End assessment process has allowed Next Step, in collaboration with staff from Lane End to identify vulnerabilities within young people and then move them onto a more specialised placement such as Claremont. Again as with Lane End, the communication between them and Next Step is excellent, improving the outcomes for young people

Below are recent comments from the Head Teacher of New Park Academy.

As discussed, I’d like to pass on how impressed I have been with the provision at Lane End. When I picked up our ex pupil, he was, as you know, in a very dark place and very reluctant to come with me. When we arrived, I immediately picked up really good 'vibes': The place felt physically and emotionally warm. The house is so well looked after and feels like the staff take pride in what they are doing and make sure it is well kept. They were really welcoming without being 'gushing'. Our ex pupil had not slept at all the previous night, and little the nights prior to that. I could see him physically relax. He came to see us the next day in school and he told me he had slept properly for the first time since his mum had died in May. Over the course of the first week, he turned up in school looking rested, clean and had regained a day rhythm. Two weeks on, and he has made contact again with family and family friends. He has aspirations again and whilst I know there will be ups and downs, I can't praise the provision and the staff enough! Best wishes, Almut

We have negotiated with this provider to offer a further annual saving to the City Council to the value of £16.5K if we are able to agree to the +1 +1 extension to contract.

This saving will not impact on the direct delivery of services to young people and will be achieved through a reduction in back office administrative function when a member of staff due to leave is not replaced.

Page 17 7 KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:

Children’s Services Commissioning Strategy

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS:-

No commissioning impact assessment was undertaken at the commencement of this contract and so there is not a formal means of measurement of compliance or progress. However it was recognised that we needed to focus on this. Only the most basic of equality monitoring took place before these contracts were merged which counted just male/ female gender and religion. We have been able to move this provider from a position of limited understanding of the need to engage (with what they deemed sensitive quality monitoring) to a position where more data is collected and has become embedded practice.

Age

The Lane End provision is specifically set up to meet the need of all care leavers from the age of 16 to 18 and so within this the only potential disadvantage for young people could be those care leavers with a birthday early in the academic year in that they may not be eligible to access this service until the end of the academic school year which may mean they could be almost 17 at the point of admission. Professionals are aware of the statutory regulations and the limitations this may bring and work with these young people to begin transition and independence work in a timely manner so to minimise any possible negative impact.

Disability

Throughout the life of this contract there has been ongoing discussion regarding what and how we collect E&D data. We have discussed the definition of disability and for example whether a young person with an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) could be categorised as disabled and what degree of disability ought to be counted. We have not yet reached a clear view as to how we progress under this criteria but intend to keep this in focus to ensure young people who may have a disability are not discriminated against.

Gender, Gender Reassignment & Sexuality

In line with equality guidance we are now collecting this information at the point of admission. This particular area of equality monitoring generated some debate and at the outset the provider felt questions around sexuality and gender was invasive and inappropriate for this age group. However, Great Places the housing provider were also requesting equality information and issued some guidance in relation to this, which was accepted by the provider as good practice.

Pregnancy & Maternity

This provision had no experience of working with pregnant females but admitted 3 in 2017. The provision were able to quickly establish links with relevant health services

Page 18 8 and adapted well to the support needs of these young people. Pregnant young people were not impacted negatively by placement in this provision.

Race

Admissions to both units have been predominantly white British but there have also been young people with the following ethnicities, Asian, Mixed White Black African, Mixed any other and African. Without having undertaken any formal benchmarking activity this would appear to be representative of the general looked after population.

Religion & Beliefs

This provider works with a wide range of young people from different backgrounds and cultures. In the lifetime of this contract there have been a number of ‘firsts’ in that they have supported a person of Jewish faith to find an appropriate place of worship and have worked with a young person of Muslim faith. These faiths/beliefs have been appropriately promoted and have not impacted negatively on the young people. There have been no reported incidents of inappropriate behaviour towards these young people from other residents.

ASSESSMENT OF RISK:

There are no other services within the City that are currently set up that would be able to offer this type of support and therefore there would be a risk associated with either dispersal of services or with a new provider operating from the same site.

Commissioners have a good knowledge of the market and this indicates there would be significant risks associated with any potential new provider in relation to quality and cost.

There is a risk of losing a recently refreshed (during the life of this contract) and established good professional working relationship between commissioners and the provider which is serving our young people well through their responsiveness to continuous improvement and best value in place through robust monitoring and open dialogue.

There have been a number of young people who have been evicted from 16+ placements outside this scheme and this can increase the cost when searching for alternative placements as providers will not make offers for some of the more complex young people without a premium payment.

Both Lane End and Claremont are operating to high standards and the reputation of both provisions within the care community is well known and respected. Pathway advisors and other professionals tell us that young people aspire to live in both of these homes and there are no other 16+ provisions as far as commissioners are aware, of which the same could be said.

Another operator is unlikely to be able to bring the longevity stability and experience of working with this client group which benefits our young people. This is a small

Page 19 9 family business with strong leadership, both Directors have significant experience and other members of the team are long serving, demonstrating the commitment to staff and being a good employer.

SOURCE OF FUNDING:-

Children’s Services Revenue Budget

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS:- Submitted by: Tony Hatton, Principal Solicitor, tel. 219 6323

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or the execution of works the Council must comply with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 as well as the provisions of its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s), Financial Regulations and the duties of Best and Social value.

It is an established principle that an existing public contract is capable of being extended and CSO’s also allow for extensions to be made where the original contract makes provision for such an extension of the original term. Where the value of an extension exceeds £150k, this should be approved by the Procurement Board. The Report sets out the detailed reasons and need to extend the contract and the benefits to the Council.

The Council is also under a best value duty to carry out its functions economically, efficiently and effectively with the objective to achieve value for money in all public procurement, and once approved the extension will commit the Council and Foundation UK to the two year period set out in the report.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:- Submitted by: David Cope

£457,106, 94 is inclusive of the contract with Great Places Housing Group for the rent of the building. The contracts will be funded from existing core revenue budget within Childrens Services.

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS:- Submitted by: Christopher Conway The Corporate Procurement Team

The annual value recorded on the Contract Register with Foundations is £457,106.94 per annum which will be revised to £440,606.94 per annum from the 1st April 2019 saving £16,500 per annum.

It is acknowledged in the current contract with Foundations that the buildings they operate from are owned and managed by the landlord Great Places and that an excluded licence agreement has been included within the current foundations contract for this provision.

It is further understood that SCC have been paying Great Places directly for this licence for £92k per annum which is not included in the Committee Report.

Page 20 10 It is Procurements Recommendation to extend the current contract for an additional 1+1 period on the proviso that:

 A variation of contract be drafted by Procurement for the Foundations contract which will reduce the Annual value to £440,606.94.

OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED:- Not applicable

CONTACT OFFICER:- Jane Wright TEL. NO.603 4196

WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S):- All wards

Page 21 11 This page is intentionally left blank Supported and Independent Living Services Placements Report An analysis of purchased placements for post 16 care leavers and young homeless

September 2017

1. Aim 1.1. To brief authorities on information gathered on placement activity for young people in group living / semi-independent, floating support with accommodation and floating support placements.

Key Messages:

 There are significant variations in average costs, total and proportional expenditure between authorities which need exploration and addressing.  Some LAs appear to be purchasing services on a ‘call off’ basis for predictable need  The market is smaller and more fragmented than previously understood  There are sub-regional markets1 with limited cross over of suppliers between them  Where block contracts were reported they were significantly cheaper than call off purchases.  New types of purchasing relationships are needed to address quality and cost  There remain very high cost placements 2. Background

2.1. Placements North West has undertaken an annual census on placement activity since 2008. A continuing problem has been the poor quality data return for care leaver placements, which has meant no meaningful conclusions were able to be drawn. This has severely limited the ability to assess sufficiency, the value of contracts, benchmark cost, review different models of service delivery, and severely hampered the strategic information which is able to be delivered to providers.

2.2. A recommendation from the 2016 census was to run the post 16 data collection again, with a much more detailed data validation process to try and build, for the first time, a clear understanding of the purchasing patterns in the North West. This report is the output of that collection and is the first clear snapshot of the purchasing activity in the region.

1 Sub-regions defined as: Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region, South (made up of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East and Warrington) and North (made up of Lancashire, Cumbria, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen)

1 Page 23 3. Terminology: Supported and Independent Living Services

3.1. An issue identified in the 2016 census was confusion over the terms used to categorise placements resulting in omissions in data submissions. Terms used have included; Post 16 placements, leaving care placements, leaving care and young homeless placements, which have all proved open to different interpretation. To seek to simplify, this and subsequent reports are proposing to use a new term which describes the services rather than the relatively diverse groups of young people which maybe accessing them, namely: Semi and Independent Living Services (SaILS)

3.2. In returning data a small number of LAs, Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Trafford, Wigan and Wirral also included information on the ‘block contract’ arrangements they have with identified providers. As this is partial data returned by only some LAs, this information has been reported separately, but there is clearly important learning from these models.

3.3. The single LA to report information on their purchased supported lodgings provision was Rochdale. As many LAs offer such as service and not returned data we have excluded supported lodgings as it a very partial response.

4. Purchasing Patterns

4.1. The estimated2 propensity (excluding block) of LAs to use externally purchased providers to meet the needs of their post 16 population varies significantly. Tameside and Blackpool seem particular outliers with their placement numbers being comparable with the much larger Liverpool. (Data Pack Graph 1.1)

4.2. Blackpool, Tameside, St Helens and Lancashire are estimated as having a much greater propensity (excluding block) to purchase SaIL placements with between 9% and 18% more placements than the regional average. Oldham, Salford and Rochdale appear to have less than half the proportion than the regional average (Graph 1.2). Blackpool and Tameside have more than four times the proportion of placements than Oldham. This significant variation is likely to be a consequence of different patterns of internal services, supported lodgings, staying put uptake and local block contracting arrangements.

4.3. There appears to be a significant sub-regional bias in the use of Floating Support with Accommodation provision. It is used much less frequently In Greater Manchester with Rochdale, Trafford, Oldham, Salford, Tameside and Bury having no placements. Outside of Greater Manchester only Blackburn reported no placements though Liverpool and Wirral also reported very low numbers. (Table 1.3)

4.4. Floating Support is rarely purchased with only five local authorities reporting activity; Liverpool, Rochdale, Wigan, Lancashire and Liverpool. Only Liverpool have a meaningful demand for this service category.(Table 1.3)

2 Because there are a range of young people who could be placed in a SaIL service, producing comparable data is challenging. Using the over 16 LAC rate published in the 903 as a proxy for potential demand, and the purchased placements are expressed as a percentage of that population. Data is taken from the 2016 903 as the most recently published at the time of writing.

2 Page 24 4.5. Two authorities, Manchester and Tameside appear to be making regular use of SaIL placements to meet the needs of young adults3, both placing 7 adults aged 18 and 4 months or older. A further 5 LAs had a single placement. Collectively £16,300 a week is being spent on these 19 placements, equivalent of almost £850,000 a year. (Table 1.6)

5. Costs of purchased services

5.1. There are very significant variations in the average costs of services purchased by local authorities. This will in part reflect authorities’ very different use of the market, and different pattern of internal and block purchased service, but the disparities in average cost are greater for SaIL placements than recorded in any other PNW census. The most expensive average weekly group living/semi-independent placement cost (£1,982 a week for Knowsley) is more than three times the lowest (£587 a week for Oldham). (Graph 2.1)

5.2. The average weekly cost of purchased floating support with accommodation services show the same significant variation ranging from £805 per week, a regional average of £1,277, to a high of £2,980. The range of costs will reflect the levels of support in place, and it is noticeable that there appear to be some arrangements which suggest an exceptionally high level of support. (Graph 2.2)

5.3. The average cost of purchased semi/independent and group living services and purchased floating support with accommodation are comparable, the former being an average of £119 a week more. There are of course profound sub-regional differences, and it is clear there is a diverse range of needs being met. (Chart 2.4)

5.4. For the local authorities who have reported block contract arrangements costs are significantly cheaper than those purchased through the DPS. Semi-independent / group living placements are a quarter of the costs in block arrangements. There should be caution in interpreting these results as it may reflect placements which meet the needs of young people with lower levels of complexity, or different quality of outcomes; it is reasonable to assume that for LAs with block arrangements it is the young people with the most complex lowest incidence need who would be in external services, but this will warrant further investigation, particularly for those LAs who make use of the DPS for predictable need. (Chart 2.4)

5.5. In the 2016 census with a partial leaving care return it was noted that there were 8 placements which cost more than £3,500 a week. With a full data return this number has risen to 17, with 10 authorities reporting at least one placement costing £3,500 or more, and Blackpool and Bolton both reporting 3 such placements. (Table 2.7). In reflecting on these placements the 2016 census noted:

“Services at this cost raise a significant question on whether the service should be regulated. While not a clear cut document Ofsted indicate that services which “..the establishment provide[s] or commission[s] a specialist support service, which forms

3 To factor out placements which may had a planned longer transition so are funded for a very short time, and different reporting dates perhaps creating a data error, the analysis only includes young people aged 18 and 4 months.

3 Page 25 part of the main function of the establishment [is ‘care’ rather than ‘support]”4 and “Where care is provided, this service meets the definition of a children’s home and will usually need to register.”5. If the service is not providing a specialist support service, it is unclear what could be responsible for such high costs.”6

This analysis remains relevant with additional clarification from Ofsted in the letter dated 4 May 2017 which notes:

“Accommodation for young people aged over 16

9. This remains an area of challenge and fluidity. A provider can provide accommodation for young people over the age of 16 without registration. If they provide care and accommodation then they should be registered. However, the level of care provided is not specified in the Care Standards Act and clearly some young people as they move into independent living require some level of support in order to make the transition. This level of care usually reduces over time and does not include the provision of meals, medication, personal care etc. The young people are free to come and go as they wish. Staff may be present for parts of the day and even overnight for security reasons but are not providing direct care. These are unregulated settings and can operate without registration. However, providers who accommodate young people under the age of 16 are then operating an unregistered setting and therefore operating illegally.

10. If the young person cannot live independently and probably would be unable to do so even into adulthood, due to their level of need, disability, emotional or mental health or the risks they pose to themselves or others and therefore requires full-time care, then the service should be registered. To operate such a service for young people over the age of 16 requires registration, with either Ofsted or some cases dependent on the type of care with the Care Quality Commission.

11. The challenge is that it is the needs of the young people which determines the requirement of registration and not the model, and therefore it is not possible to define with any certainty that a setting will never require registration.”7

6. Total spend on SaIL placements

6.1. There is very significant variations on the estimated total spend on externally purchased SaIL placements (excluding the small number of block arrangements). The pattern of this differs from that typically found in fostering and residential censuses.

4 Introduction to children’s homes; A children’s social care guide to registration (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-open-a-childrens-home) , page 12 5 ibid 6 Placements North West Census 2016, page 6. 7 Ofsted Letter to Directors of Children’s Services. 4 May 2017

4 Page 26 6.2. Lancashire is the largest spender on SaIL placements by a very significant amount, spending more than twice as much as the second highest spender, Manchester. Blackpool and Tameside as the third and fourth largest purchaser are purchasing significantly more than may have been anticipated for their relative size, both reporting an estimated annual spend more than 10% greater than Liverpool.

6.3. It is noticeable that Blackburn accepted, the LAs with the lowest reported spend are all in Greater Manchester: Oldham, Blackburn, Salford, Rochdale, Wigan, Bury and Trafford. This will be indicative of a greater reliance on internal services, supported lodgings placements, fostering and block contracts to meet need, as well as cheaper SaIL placements.

7. Contract usage

7.1. Use of the regional Dynamic Purchasing System is very high, with only 11 placements made with providers who are not on the DPS, a further 12 placements with providers who latterly joined the DPS and a further 5 placements where the provider is on the DPS but a service is being purchased that the provider did not bid in for.

8. Market analysis and sufficiency

8.1. With a full data return this paper is reporting a market which is both smaller and more fragmented that PNW had previously understood. The provider with the largest market share has only 9.4% of placements and the 11th largest provider has 3.1%. Outside of the top 11 providers there are a further 53 with at least one placement.

8.2. There continues to be a steady flow of new providers coming to market, in the week of writing PNW has had a new conversation with 3 providers who are intending to set up a new leaving care service. It is clear from some of the discussions, that they are having limited contact with LAs commissioning or leaving care teams, and there is no clear sufficiency message being articulated by LAs to potential suppliers.

8.3. There are clear sub-regional variations in providers delivering services. Only one provider, Bedspace, appears in top market share list for all four sub regions. Only a small number of providers, Moving Up, Transitional Plus and Continuum appear in the top supplier lists for more than one sub-region. This fragmentation is a likely driver in the significant variation in costs between sub-regions. It is unknown what impact this is having on quality and outcomes.

8.4. The South region is an outlier with one provider Moving Up, with a 50% market share of purchased placements.

8.5. The very different markets operating in the sub-regions offers an opportunity for authorities to review/benchmark the cost and quality of provision operating in other sub regions and use this to shape and manage more local markets.

5 Page 27 9. Recommendations and Next Steps

9.1. Recommendation 1: Reviewing purchasing mix Local authorities with atypically high usage of purchased SaIL placements may wish to consider if this need is predictable and if lower cost, more tightly quality managed provision can be secured locally.

9.2. Recommendation 2: Consider block contracting / cohort purchasing arrangements The block contracting arrangements reported by some LAs are significantly cheaper than placements purchased on a ‘call off basis’ with the caveats noted above. LAs should consider block / cohort purchasing to control cost, but also address the quality issues regularly reported for this market.

9.3. Recommendation 3: Introduce ‘Cohort’ purchasing into DPS: PNW is meeting with Tameside procurement and legal in the first week of October to explore introducing the ‘cohort purchase’ concept developed in the new residential FPS to the SaIL DPS. This would provide a place for LAs to share the risk of any block arrangements between LAs, and work with suppliers to risk share to lower cost and innovate.

9.4. Recommendation 4: LAs to set out a clear market statement. Providers, and particularly new entrants, are not clear enough on what local authorities want from suppliers. There appear at times to be inconsistent messages given suppliers from different teams/workers within LAs. Each LA should set out a clear one or two page market statement on what they intend to purchase, and expectations of suppliers. This should be understood internally and communicated clearly externally to existing and new suppliers

9.5. Recommendation 5: PNW to organise structured provider engagement. PNW will share data collated by in this report with providers and establish a structured engagement over a 12 to 18 month period on a regional or sub-regional basis (to be agreed with Commissioning Managers) with the objective, of supporting the development of market statements, addressing market fragmentation, addressing thematic issues of underperformance.

9.6. Recommendation 6: LAs to review high cost placements: Where placements are high cost LAs will wish to ensure that they are continuing to offer support rather than care as defined by Ofsted, or are appropriately regulated.

6 Page 28 Data Pack – Semi and Independent Living Services September 17

This report uses sub regions as follows:

Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region, South (made up of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East and Warrington) and North (made up of Lancashire, Cumbria, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen)

Graph 1.1 Number of active SaIL placements by service type

This graph includes the block placements reported by five authorities for information, but this is a partial representation; PNW did not explicitly request this data and is aware of other block arrangements for which information was not returned. This is an area for better mapping in the future.

70 60 50 36 40 30 6 17 30 20 24 31 2 12 28 1 3 5 11 13 14 10 3 4 4 2 9 10 12 10 16 5 7 6 9 9 10 9 9 12 0 4 1 1 5 6 4 3 1 4 6 4 5 6 2 2 East Bury BLWD Wirral CWAC Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Helens Salford Oldham Trafford Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Lancashire Warrington Manchester Floating Support Floating supportCheshire w accommodation Group Living / Semi-Indp Block (reported)

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

7 Page 29 Graph 1.2 Estimated propensities to purchase SaIL placements (excluding block contracts)

Because there are a range of young people who could be placed in a SaIL placement, producing comparable data is challenging. Using the over 16 LAC rate published in the 903 as a proxy for potential demand, the purchased placements are expressed as a percentage of that population. Data is taken from the 2016 903 as the most recently published at the time of writing.

Block contracts numbers have been excluded from the graph to reflect only a small number of LAs who reported details of such arrangements.

40% 38% 35% 35% 29% 30% 23% 23% 23% 22% 22% 21% 21% 25% 21% 20% 18% 18% 18% 17% 20% 17% 14% 13% 12% 15% 12% 9% 9% 10% 8% 5% 0% East Bury

West Wirral CWAC Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Helens Salford Oldham Trafford Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Blackburn Lancashire Warrington North Manchester Cheshire

Source: 903 2016 and PNW SaIL Census 2017

8 Page 30 Chart 1.3 Profile of SaIL purchasing

The table provides a percentage breakdown of each service category. The table is ordered by the proportion of placements made for group living, the most typically purchased. Outliers are marked in red.

Floating Floating support w Group Living / Support accommodation Semi-independent Cheshire East 0% 82% 18% Knowsley 0% 60% 40% Halton 0% 56% 44% Liverpool 47% 3% 50% Lancashire 3% 45% 52% CWAC 0% 43% 57% Bolton 0% 35% 65% North West 5% 27% 68% Cumbria 0% 31% 69% Warrington 0% 29% 71% Manchester 0% 29% 71% St Helens 0% 26% 74% Wigan 13% 13% 75% Sefton 0% 24% 76% Stockport 0% 23% 77% Blackpool 0% 20% 80% Rochdale 17% 0% 83% Wirral 0% 8% 92% Tameside 0% 7% 93% Oldham 0% 0% 100% BLWD 0% 0% 100% Salford 0% 0% 100% Trafford 0% 0% 100% Bury 0% 0% 100% Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

9 Page 31 Chart 1.4 Sub-regional patterns of SaIL placements. (Excluding block contract arrangements)

160 2 140 24 120 2 100 16 41 80 22 60 122

40 76 22 64 20 24 0 South LCR North Greater Manchester Group Living / Semi Indp Floating support with accommodation Floating Support only

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

Chart 1.5 Use of the DPS Contract for purchased SaIL placements

The DPS has been used for 93% of the reported SaIL placements active at the census made since is launch. The largest majority of placements made off the DPS, 10, were with providers who subsequently joined the DPS.

250 200 150 100 50

0 Floating Floating support with Group Living Support only accomm Placement before 0 0 10 provider joined DPS DPS 17 88 234 Organisation on DPS - 17 90 236 service not Spot Purchase 18 94 241

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

10 Page 32 Table 1.6 Use of purchased SaIL placements to meet the needs of young people aged over 18 and 4 months

Some local authorities appear to be making use or regular use of SaIL placements for young people aged over 18. To factor out placements which may had a planned longer transition so are funded for a very short time, and different reporting dates perhaps creating a data error, the following table only includes young people aged 18 and 4 months.

No# aged 18 years and 4 months Blackpool 1 BLWD 1 Manchester 7 Stockport 1 Tameside 7 Trafford 1 Warrington 1 Grand Total 19 *No age data was returned for Liverpool

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

Section 2: Costs of Purchase Services Chart 2.1 Average weekly costs of purchased semi-independent / group living services (excluding block contract arrangements)

£2,000

£1,800 £1,877 £1,928 £1,549 £1,600 £1,514 £1,368 £1,312 £1,301 £1,400 £1,300 £1,216 £1,207 £1,205 £1,191 £1,180 £1,108 £1,091 £1,074 £1,064 £1,200 £1,063 £1,014 £893

£1,000 £854 £687

£800 £649 £587 £600 £400 £200 £0 Bury Wirral CWAC Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Salford Oldham Trafford Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Blackburn Lancashire Warrington North Helens Manchester Cheshire West Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017 East

11 Page 33 Chart 2.2 Average weekly costs of purchased floating support with accommodation services (excluding block contract arrangements)

£4,500 £4,121 £4,000 £3,500 £2,980 £3,000 £2,501 £2,500 £1,969 £1,920 £1,839 £1,656 £2,000 £1,640 £1,577 £1,310

£1,500 £1,188 £1,078 £972 £971 £856 £848 £1,000 £805 £500 £508 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 East Bury

West Wirral CWAC Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Helens Salford Oldham Trafford Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Blackburn Lancashire Warrington North Manchester Cheshire

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

Chart 2.3 Average weekly costs of purchased floating support services

£4,000 £3,695 £3,500

£3,000

£2,500

£2,000

£1,500 £983

£1,000 £719

£500 £419 £360 £0 East Bury

West Wirral CWAC Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Helens Salford Oldham Trafford Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Blackburn Lancashire Warrington North Manchester Cheshire

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

12 Page 34 Chart 2.4 Average weekly cost by contract type

£2,500

£2,015 £2,000

£1,541

£1,500 £1,276 £1,174 £1,045 £1,000 £725 £568 £479 £500

£0 £0 Floating Support only Floating support with Group Living accommodation Block DPS Spot Purchase

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

Chart 2.5 Total estimated annual spend on purchased SaIL placements (excluding reported block contracts) £4,219,062 £4,500,000 £4,000,000 £2,110,196 £1,873,534 £1,871,864

£3,500,000 £1,668,091 £1,557,806 £1,440,296 £3,000,000 £1,408,155 £2,500,000 £2,000,000 £1,015,312 £1,067,754 £1,143,595 £1,225,855

£1,500,000 £122,044 £236,200 £243,704 £321,360 £450,872 £501,254 £564,873 £576,209 £678,737 £946,291 £975,520 £1,000,000 £500,000 £0 East Bury

Wirral CWAC Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Helens Salford Oldham Trafford Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Blackburn Lancashire Warrington Manchester Cheshire

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

13 Page 35 Chart 2.6 Benchmarked expenditure on SaIL placements (excluding block arrangements)

Because there are a range of young people who could be placed in a SaIL placement, producing comparable data is challenging. Using the over 16 LAC rate published in the 903 as a proxy for potential demand, the purchased placements are expressed as a proportion of that population. Data is taken from the 2016 903 as the most recently published at the time of writing.

Block contracts numbers have been excluded from the graph to reflect only a small number of LAs who reported details of such arrangements. £19,060 £22,022 £22,562 £23,419 £23,966 £18,004 £16,259 £14,302 £25,000 £14,082 £12,904 £12,531 £12,338 £11,312 £11,297 £20,000 £10,426 £9,707 £9,603 £9,463 £8,613 £15,000 £6,936

£10,000 £2,441 £3,061 £3,749 £4,724

£5,000

£0 East Bury

West Wirral Wigan Sefton Bolton Halton Helens Salford Chester Oldham Trafford

Cumbria Rochdale Liverpool St Knowsley Tameside Stockport Blackpool Lancashire Blacbkburn Warrington North Manchester and Cheshire West

Cheshire

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017 & 903 2016

Table 2.7 Placements which cost more than £3,500 per week

No# £3,500 a week or more Blackpool 3 Bolton 3 Bury 1 Lancashire 2 Manchester 2 St Helens 2 Stockport 1 Tameside 1 Warrington 1 Wirral 1 Grand Total 17 Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

14 Page 36 Section 3 – Provider Market Shares Chart 3.1 Market Shares of providers who have more than 3% of total placements in the North West (excluding block contracts)

Note: There were 52 further providers with at least one placement reported through the census.

9.4% 10% 8.7% 9% 8% 7% 6.3% 6% 4.3% 4.3% 5% 3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 3.9% 4% 3.1% 3% 2% Pathways Services 1% 0%

Plus Up Care Stone Support Services Casicare Services Childcare Bedspace Community Moving Leaving Stepping Transitional Support Nurture Continuum Community AMJ Northern Northwest Inspire

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

Chart 3.2 Market shares of providers purchased by LCR authorities with a market share of more than 3%

Note that a 3% market share only represents 4 active placements. A further 19 providers supplied placements to LCR authorities.

16% 13.7% 13.7% 14% 12% 10.8% 10% 8.8% 8% 5.9% 5.9% 4.9% 4.9% 6% 3.9% 4% 2% 0%

PIC CIC Up Step Care Matters Support Care Bedspace SafeHands Next Moving Plus Omega The - Placement Continuum

Aftercare Transitional

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

15 Page 37 Chart 3.3 Market shares of providers purchased by Greater Manchester authorities with a market share of more than 3%

Note that a 3% market share only represents 5 active placements. A further 19 providers supplied placements to Greater Manchester authorities.

12% 10.8% 10% 8.8% 7.4% 6.8% 8% 6.1% 6.1% 6.1% 5.4% 6% 4.1% 4.1% 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% 4% Project 2% 0%

CIC Unit Trust Care Stone Care Centre to HorizonCare Services Casicare Services Paul Prospects Bedspace Fusion Family to De Plus Care SteppingAccess Independence Resource Social Start Community Ahead Pathways Transitional Fresh Step Inspire

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

Chart 3.3 Market shares of providers purchased by ‘North’ authorities with a market share of more than 3%

Note that a 3% market share represents 4 active placements.

A further 11 providers supplied placements to ‘North’ authorities.

18% 15.1% 16.0% 16% 13.4% 14% 11.8% 12% 10% 7.6% 8.4% 8% 6% 4.2% 4.2% 4.2% Pathways 4% Ltd Services 2% 0% Ltd

Ltd Drive Care House Stone Services Bedspace Services Community Davlin Leaving Community Stepping Whitegate Support & Childcare 123 AMJ Care Northern Northwest Nurture

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

16 Page 38 Chart 3.4 Market shares of all providers with a placement from South LAs

Note a provider with 2% market share is indicative of a single placement

60% 50% 50% 40% 30% 20% Care 13% 9% 9% OutcomesCompany7% 10% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 0%

Up Care House Centre YMCA Housing Housing Leaving Support Positive Bedspace Moving Clay The Forum Mococo Resource Transitional T/A Supporting Continuum Ahead

Step Aspirations

Source: PNW SaIL Census 2017

17 Page 39 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 5c

Part 1 – Open ITEM NO.

______

REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, POLICY AND PERFORMANCE

TO PROCUREMENT BOARD

ON 9TH JANUARY 2019 ______

TITLE: Approval for an Exception to Contractual Standing Orders to enter into a grant agreement for Community of Identity Support for Yemeni and Arabic speaking communities and Community of Identity Support for Women. ______

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Procurement Board:

(1) Approves an exception to Contractual Standing Orders (CSO) to award a continuation of funding for Community of Identity Support for Yemeni and Arabic speaking communities (Yemeni Community Association). The exception is requested from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2021, thereby allowing a contract to be placed with the Yemeni Community Association from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020, with an option to extend until 31st March 2021, pending the outcome of a review of the relationship between Salford City Council and groups which represent people who share a protected characteristic (including but not limited to those funded by the ‘Community of Identity’ fund).

(2) Approves an exception to Contractual Standing Orders (CSO) to award a continuation of funding for Community of Identity Support for Women (Salford Women’s Centre). The exception is requested from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2021, thereby allowing a contract to be placed with the Salford Women’s Centre from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020, with an option to extend until 31st March 2021, pending the outcome of a review of the relationship between Salford City Council and groups which represent people who share a protected characteristic (including but not limited to those funded by the ‘Community of Identity’ fund).

Detail required Title/Description of Contracted Community of Identity Support for Yemeni and Service/Supply/Project Arabic speaking communities Name of Successful Contractor Yemeni Community Association Supplier Registration Number - Type of organisation Registered Charity

Page 41 Status of Organisation n/a Contract Value £16,524 Full Project Contract Duration 12 months Contract Start Date 01/04/2019 Contract End Date 31/03/2020 Optional Extension Period 1 12 months Optional Extension Period 2 n/a Who will approve each Extension Period? Lead Member for Workforce and Industrial Relations Contact Officer (Name & number) Jacquie Russell 0161 793 3577 Lead Service Group Public Health, Strategy and Policy

Reason for CSO Exception The need for the goods, services or works is so urgent that the time needed to comply with the rules would be (select all that apply) prejudicial to the Council’s interests Specialist services/supplies which are available only  from one supplier. For example, specialist niche consultants or suppliers where there is a sole supplier of patented or proprietary articles, materials or services exclusively provided by a statutory undertaker or other bodies For reasons of compatibility with existing services/products – for example, equipment that needs parts from its own manufacturer Where any of the standing orders are inconsistent with any legislative requirements, in which instance the provisions of the appropriate legislation shall prevail Where the Council can demonstrate that an integrated or strategic approach to procurement is being implemented and there is a requirement to align services or contracts to co-terminus end dates There are value for money reasons justifying a CSO  Exception School Governors: in relation to the Local Management of Schools (LMS), where schools have adopted their own standing orders The shared legal service, in respect of the appointment of counsel Strategic Director of CHSC: contracts for the provision of personal care services or facilities pursuant to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 Funding Source Grant

Detail required Title/Description of Contracted Community of Identity Support for Women Service/Supply/Project Name of Successful Contractor Salford Women’s Centre Supplier Registration Number - Type of organisation Unincorporated Organisation/Society Status of Organisation n/a Contract Value £55,178 Full Project Contract Duration 12 months Contract Start Date 01/04/2019 Contract End Date 31/03/2020 Optional Extension Period 1 12 months Optional Extension Period 2 n/a Who will approve each Extension Period?

Page 42 Contact Officer (Name & number) Jacquie Russell 0161 793 3577 Lead Service Group Public Health, Strategy and Policy

Reason for CSO Exception The need for the goods, services or works is so urgent that the time needed to comply with the rules would be (select all that apply) prejudicial to the Council’s interests Specialist services/supplies which are available only  from one supplier. For example, specialist niche consultants or suppliers where there is a sole supplier of patented or proprietary articles, materials or services exclusively provided by a statutory undertaker or other bodies For reasons of compatibility with existing services/products – for example, equipment that needs parts from its own manufacturer Where any of the standing orders are inconsistent with any legislative requirements, in which instance the provisions of the appropriate legislation shall prevail Where the Council can demonstrate that an integrated or strategic approach to procurement is being implemented and there is a requirement to align services or contracts to co-terminus end dates There are value for money reasons justifying a CSO  Exception School Governors: in relation to the Local Management of Schools (LMS), where schools have adopted their own standing orders The shared legal service, in respect of the appointment of counsel Strategic Director of CHSC: contracts for the provision of personal care services or facilities pursuant to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 Funding Source Grant

(3) Notes that prior to the end of the period of time covered by the exceptions as indicated in 1 & 2 above, the Assistant Director will determine whether the services are to be decommissioned or, in consultation with the Corporate Procurement Team, will agree to undertake a compliant procurement process to re-let the contracts by the end of the exception period. ______

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Community of Identity Fund brought together the funding for several groups active in Salford and has provided grants to forums working with particular protected groups. This funding has been in place since 2007.

The purpose of this report is to seek approval from the Procurement Board for an exception to Contractual Standing Orders (CSO) for two years, in order to continue with Community of Identity funding support for Yemeni and Arabic speaking communities and women for the next 12 months, with an option to extend funding for a further 12 months. A review, as requested by the Lead Member, is in progress which is examining all support Salford City Council gives to groups which represent people who share one of the protected characteristics. This is wider than the organisations funded through the ‘Communities of Identity’ fund. Support offered will be interpreted as widely as possible, and includes funding, premises, and officer

Page 43 support. Following an audit, conducted by SCC, a review of the Salford Women’s Centre Service Level Agreement took place and a new SLA is now in place with this organisation. The review is expected to result in further renewed Service Level Agreements and reporting arrangements with all of the Communities of Identity. ______

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

 Equality Act 2010 (www.gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance)  Creating the Conditions for Integration (Creating the conditions for a more integrated society - Publications - GOV.UK)  Salford Equality Strategy (http://www.partnersinsalford.org/Citywide_Equality_Strategy.htm)  Salford Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Strategy, 2018 ______

KEY DECISION: NO ______

DETAILS:

1. Background

1.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, in the exercise of its functions, the council must have due regard to the need to:

1. Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation. 2. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. (This includes having due regard to the need to tackle prejudice and to promote understanding.) 3. Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, maternity and pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

1.2 The Community of Identity Fund has been used to support these duties by providing grants to five forums working with particular protected groups. This funding has been in place since 2007. Appendix 1 details the proposed funding levels for each of the five groups

1.3 This request for an exception to Contractual Standing Orders is to assist two of the forums; Yemeni Community Association (YCA) and Salford Women’s Centre (SWC).

1.4 In order to support the YCA and SWC the exception to CSO is to waive the need to take to market competition and to continue to fund the YCA and SWC at the same rate as in previous years as they both provide a unique service to the city.

Page 44 1.5 All the forums work with individuals and other agencies across Salford (and beyond) to ensure the community they represent has a voice and representation within the city in order to tackle prejudice and promote understanding. This is done through an agreed action plan of specific activities, outreach and networking with their communities against which their performance is monitored. Through this work they help to support the council meet its duty to have due regard to fostering good relations within the city (Equality Act 2010) and also enhance community cohesion.

1.6 Both organisations provide a unique service for their communities:

 They each provide a cost-effective range of support activities (detailed below) that cannot currently be replicated through other single organisations. Should their services be put out for tendering it is highly likely that the services will become fragmented, increasing cost to the individual, damaging existing relationships and resulting in less effective support for some of our most disenfranchised and needy residents.  There is also the additional cost associated with a competitive procurement process and the disruption / strain caused to both organisations.  Both services are based in Salford and support Salford communities. To provide the same level of service through other organisations could result in some services having to be delivered outside the city.  Both organisations employ staff (one full-time for YCA and five part-time, as well as two counsellors working paid, contracted hours for SWC). TUPE would apply to the awarding of a contract to another organisation/s, and it is likely both organisations will cease to exist.

Yemeni Community Association

1.7 The YCA exists to provide a range of unique services for Yemeni and Arabic speaking communities. The YCA is recognised as the Greater Manchester forum for this community and supports other organisations across the region.

1.8 The YCA provides welfare advice, signposting, and translation services, as well as guidance and support. It runs / takes part in projects, and works in partnership with other local organisations / institutions, including mosque. The YCA aims to tackle unemployment and low educational attainment within its community, as well as promote improved links between the Yemeni community and the wider community by providing:

 Access training, development and employment opportunities.  Support to improve educational attainment and opportunities for learning and development.  Help to their community to feel able to work in partnership with local agencies to tackle crime and disorder issues – especially in relation to anti- social behaviour and hate crime.  Support residents to feel part of the wider Eccles community and local cohesion activities.

Page 45  Assistance to Yemeni residents in Salford to be aware of local Sure Start and Children Services provision and support them to access services.  Involvement in cohesive activities with local communities in Eccles, Winton and Barton – reducing potential tensions.  In response to recent food poverty, the YCA now runs a food bank which fills a gap geographically and also in terms of their community.

1.9 Recent evaluation work has shown that the YCA provides ongoing support that seeks to develop the Yemeni, Arab-origin and minority groups in the local community, providing a useful link between communities and statutory bodies.

1.10 Successes have included the setting up of a food bank, in partnership with FareShare and Tesco and the youth club, which has seen many of the participants attaining the goals they set for themselves. The YCA has joined the local Neighbourhood Committee budget group and is therefore participating in wider community decision making. ESOL class numbers have increased – both provision and participants, making an important contribution to inclusion and community cohesion.

Salford Women’s Centre

1.11 SWC was founded in 1984 by local women for local women with a focus on social inclusion, employability, health and wellbeing within Salford that cannot be supplied by another organisation within the city or from across Greater Manchester. There are a number of key services offered by the centre including:

 Advocacy Service – debt management, welfare and benefit advice, money mentoring, court order compliance, support to report crime and ASB, housing issues, accessing health services, immigration, supporting women fleeing domestic abuse and supporting women with substance misuse. This is undertaken face-face, over the telephone and via email.  Volunteering opportunities – volunteers are offered supervision, personal development plans and support from designated volunteer coordinator. Volunteering opportunities are designed for a variety of outcomes including encouraging positive routines, to make individuals work ready or improve their sense of achievement and self-esteem.  Fitness and leisure activities – including yoga, arts and crafts, cookery, drama, creative writing.  Community café – not for profit, provides healthy homemade meals. Also offers volunteering and community pay back placements that can be used as a teaching environment.  Counselling – offering individual women a more open-ended service than that available from GPs.  Postnatal depression service via a support group.  Health initiatives – cookery around health, Healthy Hips and Hearts, Confidence Building, Coping and Managing with long term Health Conditions.

Page 46  Events – Heart Disease prevention, cancer awareness, sexual health screening (HIV, Chlamydia etc).  Facilities include onsite childcare for specific activities, playroom and baby changing. There is also a community garden which helps supply the café.

1.12 Recent evaluation work with the SWC has shown that they have organised 16 separate activities with two one off events in 2018. The activities vary widely and range from a singing group to one to one counselling sessions. The centre also offers advice sessions (according to demand) and volunteering opportunities and has worked with 20 organisations.

1.13 The monitoring information that has been returned provides a monthly tally of how many women;  participated in events  how many new people are using the service  the range of services offered  some equality data

1.14 SWC also provide case studies which report upon successful outcomes after using their services. Successes include: improved confidence and skills, gaining work experience leading to work, seeking support and planning for the future after fleeing from domestic violence and obtaining secure housing.

1.15 Not enough funding is stated as the main barrier with an increased demand on their service due to cuts in provision elsewhere.

1.16 A renewed Service Level Agreement is in place with Salford Women’s Centre. This has refreshed outcomes agreed for monitoring on a six-monthly basis.

2. Wider review of support for protected groups

2.1 A review is in progress which is examining all support Salford City Council gives to groups which represent and work for people who share one of the protected characteristics. This was initiated at the request of the Lead Member for Equalities. The scope of the review is wider than the organisations funded through the ‘Communities of Identity’ fund. Support offered by SCC will be interpreted as widely as possible, and includes funding, premises, and officer support. Following an audit, conducted by SCC, a review of the Salford Women’s Centre Service Level Agreement took place and a new SLA is now being put in place with this organisation.

2.2 The review of the COI Fund will sit within the wider review. It is expected that this review will lead to improved support across our relationships with organisations supporting people who share one of the protected characteristics. We also seek to better our understanding of the picture across the city.

2.3 It should be noted that any change to the existing contractual agreement with any CoI forum would need to be compliant with the Compact Agreement between the City Council and VCSE sector in Salford. This requires that six months’ notice is given of any change to a contract. Six months’ notice in

Page 47 writing would be required to end any of the existing agreements in order for either winding up to take place, or alternative sources of funding to be found.

3. Social Value

3.1 Ensuring continued Salford City Council’s support for both the Yemeni Community Association and Salford Women’s Centre demonstrates the council’s continuing support for these communities in line with our Public Sector Equality Duty, specifically to have due regard to fostering good relations. One of the priorities described in the City Council’s Social Value and Sustainability Policy is increased wellbeing for local people, towards which this Fund will contribute.

3.2 Both of these Community of Identity organisations employ local people and offer volunteering opportunities in disadvantaged parts of the city, in line with Salford City Council’s ambitions around social value, as detailed in the Council Social Impact Report. ______

KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: Equality Strategy and Action Plan ______

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS Supplied by Magda Sachs, Principal Policy and Equalities Officer

Community Impact Assessments for the Fund and Commissioning Impact Assessments for each of the community of identity forums were undertaken during 2015. These are still relevant and do not require updating as no change is proposed.

The impact of a reduced or decommissioned service will have a direct bearing on both the Yemeni Community Association and Salford Women’s Centre, which may force both forums to cease to exist, and if the funding went out to quotation and another organisation/s won this then TUPE would apply for their staff.

Service users will be required to find alternative support which is not available as it is currently delivered. Salford residents will need to travel outside the city to a variety of different venues and services. Both the YCA and SWC provide important informal preventative services that lead to improved cohesion, reduced tensions and feelings of inequality (for both the endemic and minority communities and for women as a whole). This could be undermined and links with marginalised groups be lost to the city. ______

ASSESSMENT OF RISK: risk is associated with fostering good relations in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010). ______

SOURCE OF FUNDING: Council revenue budget (Communities of Identity grant) ______

Page 48 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Tony Hatton, Principal Solicitor, Tel. 0161 219 6323

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or works the Council must comply with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s) and Financial Regulations.

It is an established principle that an existing public contract is capable of being extended, and CSO’s also allow for contract extensions to be made by approval by Procurement board. There is, however, always a risk that any extension, if done outside of the usual tender process, could be subject to 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.

Whilst exceptions to CSO’s may be authorised by a decision notice from Procurement Board, as detailed in section 3 of Part 5 of the Constitution there is still a risk of challenge from aggrieved providers if the usual tender process has not been followed. The proposed extensions (or any one of them) may be challenged, although highly unlikely in this instance, if it is seen as a way of avoiding the operation of procurement rules. The risk of challenge increases in tandem with the value and proposed length of the extension. In this instance, as noted in the report, the value of the proposed extensions is relatively low, with a short term, and the Council is not commissioning a service which may be readily provided by a number of suppliers in the marketplace, if indeed any. These are described as specialist services which provide unique support and activities which it is understood any other single provider could not deliver. The risk of challenge in this instance could therefore be regarded as extremely low.

It could also be argued that these proposals are merely a delay in the competitive process, not avoidance, whilst the Council undertakes the review of all support which it provides to groups which represent people who share one of the protected characteristics.

The Council is also under a best value duty to carry out its functions economically, efficiently and effectively with the objective to achieve value for money in all public procurement, and comply with its duties of social value. The extensions with the existing providers with proven ability to meet the requirements of the service users would be argued to be more cost effective and efficient under the circumstances.

Further reasons for approving the extensions are set out in the body of the report, particularly the Council having to comply with its statutory duty under the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act, and maintaining stability in provision of the functions these services provide. Once approved the extension(s) will commit the Council to the period(s) detailed in the report (12 months with an option to extend for a further 12 months). ______

Page 49 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Kieran McElwee, Finance Officer Tel: 0161 793 2604

An exception to Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s) is requested to enter into grant agreements with the Yemeni Community Association for the provision of Communities of Identity support for Yemeni and Arabic speaking communities and the Salford Women’s Centre for the provision of Communities of Identity support for women. The grant covers a 12 month period from 01/04/2019 to 31/03/2020 and has a value of £16,524 and £55,178 respectively. These amounts are in line with funding provided for the previous financial years and the cost is fully met from the Community of Identity fund. ______

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: Christine Flisk, Tel: 0161 686 6245

As per the detail contained within this report, the council is providing grant funding to deliver services for which it has responsibility under the Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010). Therefore, this funding should be subject to Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s).

An exception to CSO’s, as stated within this report, is being sought in respect of 12 months with an option to extend to a further 12 months subject to funding, to continue this level of support provided by Yemeni Community Association and Salford Women’s Centre.

There is always a risk that any award of business, if made outside of a proportionate competitive process, could be subject to challenge on the basis that it ought to have been advertised and put out to competition. This risk cannot be eliminated, but in this particular case, this is considered to be low.

Procurement engagement: None ______

HR IMPLICATIONS Supplied by: N/A ______

OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: SERVICE REFORM, PEOPLE ______

CONTACT OFFICER: Magda Sachs, Principal Policy and Equalities Officer ______

WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): All

Page 50 Appendix 1:

In order to complete the review of the CoI Fund in a manner which is aligned to the other pieces of work described at 2.2 above, it is proposed that the existing agreements which are held with five of the six CoI forums are extended.

For compliance with the requirement in the VCSE Compact that any organisation must receive 6 months’ notice in writing of any changes in funding, the review of the CoI Fund would needed to be completed and approved well in advance of the end of September 2020.

It is therefore proposed that the service level agreements with each of the CoI Forums are extended for 12 months, with an option to extend for a further 12 months, pending completion of the review of the Fund. The following table describes this proposal in detail:

2019/20 2020/21 Funding (pending completion CoI Forum of wider council review) Salford Disability Forum £10,000 £10,000

Salford Interfaith Network £1,800 £1,800 Salford Forum for Refugees and £10,000 £10,000 People Seeking Asylum Yemeni Community Association (YCA) £16,524 £16,524

Salford Women’s Centre (SWC) £55,178 £55,178

Total £93,502 £93,502

Page 51 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 5d

Part 1 – Open to the public ITEM NO.

REPORT OF

The Strategic Director for Place

TO

Procurement Board

ON

9th January 2019

TITLE: Approval for an Exception to Contractual Standing Orders to award a contract for Archaeological Planning services for the ten Greater Manchester Local Planning Authorities

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Procurement Board

(1) Approve an exception to Contractual Standing Orders in accordance with Paragraph 3.1 as follows:

 *The need for the goods, services or works is so urgent that the time needed to comply with the rules would be prejudicial to the council’s interests.  *There are value for money reasons justifying an exception.

(2) Approve the award of the Contract for Archaeological Services for the GM Local Planning Authorities as detailed in the table below:

Detail required Title/Description of Contracted Archaeological Planning Services for the Greater Service/Supply/Project Manchester Local Planning Authorities Name of Successful Contractor The University of Salford Incorporated by Royal Charter – Charity Exempt from Registration Supplier Registration Number (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Type of organisation Choose an item. (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Status of Organisation Choose an item. (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement)

Page 53 Contract Value £105,000 Choose an item. Contract Duration 12 months Contract Start Date 01/04/2019 Contract End Date 31/03/2020 Optional Extension Period 1 Optional Extension Period 2 Who will approve each Extension Strategic Director (extension < £150k) Period? Contact Officer (Name & number) Chris Findley – 016 793 3654 Lead Service Group Place Reason for CSO Exception The need for the goods, services or works is so urgent that x the time needed to comply with the rules would be prejudicial (select all that apply) to the Council’s interests Specialist services/supplies which are available only from one supplier. For example, specialist niche consultants or suppliers where there is a sole supplier of patented or proprietary articles, materials or services exclusively provided by a statutory undertaker or other bodies For reasons of compatibility with existing services/products – for example, equipment that needs parts from its own manufacturer Where any of the standing orders are inconsistent with any legislative requirements, in which instance the provisions of the appropriate legislation shall prevail Where the Council can demonstrate that an integrated or strategic approach to procurement is being implemented and there is a requirement to align services or contracts to co- terminus end dates There are value for money reasons justifying a CSO x Exception

School Governors: in relation to the Local Management of Schools (LMS), where schools have adopted their own standing orders The shared legal service, in respect of the appointment of counsel Strategic Director of CHSC: contracts for the provision of personal care services or facilities pursuant to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 Funding Source Choose an item.

(3) Note that prior to the end of the period of time covered by the exception as indicated in 2 above, the Strategic Director will determine whether the service is to be decommissioned or, in consultation with the Corporate Procurement Team, will agree to undertake a compliant procurement process to re-let the contract by the end of the exception period.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The purpose of this report is to seek request an exception to Contractual Standing Orders to approve the award of a contract for Archaeological Planning Services for the Greater Manchester Local Planning Authorities

Page 54 BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

Previous reports to Procurement Board

GMAAS summary of the last year’s activity

KEY DECISION:

No

DETAILS:

The Greater Manchester Archaeological Service is one of three “Planning Units”, providing direct services to the ten GM districts. The others are the GM Ecological service, which is hosted by Tameside MBC and is therefore an “in house” service, and the GM Waste and Minerals Service which is hosted by Salford CC and is currently part of the Urban Vision arrangements (and will return to Salford CC when the contract ends in February 2020). The only reason that the GMAAS is subject to market testing is that it had been hosted by Manchester University since its creation by the former GM Council, and when that University decided not to continue with it its transfer to Salford University had to be subject to procurement arrangements.

Procurement Board is requested to agree the extension to the Contract for a further 12 months. The Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service (GMAAS) has been established at Salford University for six years. The Unit has provided support to the Greater Manchester Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in line with the Service Level Agreement and has performed to a high standard. Since the contract was awarded AGMA has reduced funding for this service, and agreement has previously been reached with the University of Salford to continue within this reduced budget. During the last 2 years the extent of development activity across Greater Manchester – focussed on Manchester/Salford but now extending to other districts – has placed much greater pressure on the service. The University is facing a budget deficit on the service during its financial year (which ends end of July 2019). This will be dealt with as a separate issue through discussion with the Combined Authority during the first part of 2019.

The service is located locally and provides a high level of service at a reasonable cost. The service had previously been with Manchester University, who took a view that it did not fit with their academic direction of travel. The service was marketed in 2012. There were three bidders, two from the south of England, and Salford University. The service has integrated well into Salford University, and has a high profile within Greater Manchester and beyond. We are considering a further market test during 2019 to establish whether the interest in providing a service remains as limited as it was during 2012, and whether there is a case which can be justified in procurement terms for not going to the market in the short/medium term.

The GMAAS undertakes work across all 10 LPAs and satisfaction with the service is high. Additionally, given the location of the GMAAS within the wider archaeological setting in the University of Salford, the unit has participated in significant levels of community engagement, and offers significant social value. For example, working

Page 55 with Network Rail and TfGM there is a high profile exhibition on Salford’s history and archaeology located at Salford Central station, community open days at digs are run, and there has been high profile publicity to archaeology in Greater Manchester and Salford (so for example the archaeology of New Bailey prison in Salford features in a programme on BBC 4 on November 28th). This is all added value, not covered by the budget provided to the service and has been enabled by the co-location and the expertise of the staff involved.

The current extension period ends at the end of March 2019. There is therefore not time to go out to the market to test the market again before that date. The service currently provides excellent value for money, to the extent that the service is currently operating at a loss. Development activity across Greater Manchester has increased significantly over the last few years, and the GMAAS has had to respond to an ever increasing number and complexity of planning applications, with no increase in budget provision. The budget loss to Salford University will have to be addressed this year, and that will be subject of a separate discussion through the CA.

When the service was previously tested with the market, Salford University was the only supplier outside the south of England interested in hosting the GMAAS. The workload is intensive and continuous, and relies on a great deal of local knowledge and experience. The service utilises extensive data bases which are continuously updated. In effect Salford University is a source of local expertise, and there is a synergy between the service undertaken for the ten GM Authorities, the academic courses developed and run by the University, and the commercial archaeological services which the University provides and which support the other archaeological work.

The work of GMAAS is overseen by the GM Planning Officers Group, and the Chair of that group (Chris Findley) and the CA Strategic Planning Manager meet the GMAAS leads to discuss performance and issues on a regular basis. Attached is the GMAAS’s summary of the last year’s activity and performance.

The intention will be that the contract will be extended to the end of March 2020, and that during 2019 we undertake a market testing exercise to ascertain if there is serious interest in running an effective service from other parties. Evidence from the last market testing was that interest was limited, and should that interest exist we would need to be assured that the service could be provided to the high standards we have come to expect from the local service.

KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:

The service supports the development management function of all 10 GM Authorities. The Authorities consult the service on all major planning applications which are likely to have an impact on matters of archaeological interest, most commonly leading to pre-commencement conditions relating to archaeology. The service also has a role in plan making and heritage interpretation, more important now for Salford when we no longer have any specialist in-house expertise.

Page 56 EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS:-

N/A

ASSESSMENT OF RISK:

Archaeological records for the whole of Greater Manchester are held by the University of Salford Archaeological Service, and we rely on it for its expertise in supporting our statutory planning functions. Without the support it provides, the 10 authorities would be at risk of not meeting their statutory obligations, and potentially at risk of judicial challenges on planning decisions

SOURCE OF FUNDING:

The service is funded through the Greater Manchester budget, and is secure

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Tony Hatton, Principal Solicitor, tel. 219 6323

Whilst extending an existing public contract is possible, when commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or works the Council must comply with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) which require that contracting authorities treat any candidates equally and in a non-discriminatory way and act in a transparent manner, and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s) and Financial Regulations, failing which a decision may be subject to challenge.

Whilst exceptions to CSO’s may be authorised by a decision notice from Procurement Board, as detailed in section 3 of Part 5 of the Constitution there is still a risk of challenge from aggrieved providers if the usual tender process has not been followed. The risk of challenge increases in tandem with the value and proposed length of the contract or extension. In this instance, as noted in the report, the value of the proposed extension is low, with a twelve month term, and the Council is not commissioning a service which may be readily provided by a number of suppliers in the marketplace, as the current arrangement is a relatively specialist and bespoke one, developed over several years of partnership working with the University, to assist AGMA authorities in their compliance with statutory planning obligations and functions.

Bearing in mind that the Council is under a best value duty to carry out its functions economically, efficiently and effectively with the objective to achieve value for money in all public procurement, it would be argued that running a full procurement exercise at this stage will not achieve value for money for the reasons presented.

In addition, in order to mitigate any risk it could be argued that these proposals are merely a delay in the competitive process, not avoidance, whilst the Council looks to undertake a market testing exercise. The extension with the existing provider with proven ability to meet the requirements of the AGMA authorities would be argued to be more cost effective and efficient under the circumstances.

The risk of any challenge in this instance could therefore be regarded as extremely low. Page 57 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Martin Anglesey

Salford, along with the other Greater Manchester authorities, contributes towards the costs of the Archaeological Planning Service. The cost of this contribution is built into current budget estimates.

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Deborah Derbyshire x 6244

The constitution allows Procurement Board to approve exceptions to Contractual Standing Orders for reasons outlined within the above report. As the exception is for a one year period with a cost to Salford of £10,500 and Salford are acting as the lead Authority for the other nine AGMA Authorities. There is always a risk of a challenge by an aggrieved provider when contracts are not openly advertised but for this type of service a challenge is relatively low, as this type of work is limited to the number of providers. The AGMA Authorities are satisfied with this arrangement and due to the extensive research and the good working partnership of Salford University by appointing a new provider it may cost the Authorities more in the long term. During the term of the contract procurement will work with the department to carry out a full market research to see if there has been any changes to market and to make an informed decision for future procurement activity.

OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: N/A

CONTACT OFFICER: Chris Findley TEL. NO. 0161 793 3654

WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): All Wards

Page 58 Consultations Consultations Consultations received by received by received by GMAAS GMAAS GMAAS 1st April 2016 to 1st April 2017 to 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2017 31st March 2018 end Dec 2018* Bolton 24 21 10 Bury 12 13 13 Manchester 111 108 105 Oldham 13 13 12 Rochdale 55 25 29 Salford 18 39 27 Stockport 26 36 41 Tameside 2 19 28 Trafford 11 27 39 Wigan 21 17 14 TOTALS 293 318 318

 For three quarters of the year

TABLE SHOWING ANNUAL CONSULTATIONS TO GMAAS FROM GM LPAS

Page 59 This page is intentionally left blank Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT FOR PERIOD 1ST APRIL 2017 – 31ST MARCH 2018

1.0 Introduction

The following report is for the sixth year of the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service, which is based at the University of Salford. GMAAS undertakes the following planning work on behalf of the ten Greater Manchester Local Planning Authorities:

 Advising on identifying Heritage Assets with an archaeological interest and understanding their significance  Assessing the likely archaeological implications of development proposals  Recommending any necessary archaeological work as a planning condition  Liaising with planners and developers to mitigate impacts on significant archaeology  Preparing briefs and advising on written schemes of investigation  Monitoring archaeological works  Providing lists of archaeological consultants, contractors and specialists  Mediating between clients and archaeological contractors  Preparing research agendas within the planning process  Maintaining and enhancing the Historic Environment Record as a planning tool and public record  Promoting dissemination of results from archaeological investigations.

2.0 Staffing and Website

2.1 GMAAS is staffed by: Norman Redhead – Heritage Management Director (Archaeology) Andrew Myers – Senior Planning Archaeologist Lesley Dunkley – Historic Environment Record Officer

2.2 The team are based in the Peel Building at the University of Salford, and form part of the Centre for Applied Archaeology within the School of Environment and Life Sciences.

Page 61 1 Contact details:

Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service School of Environment & Life Sciences Room LG20, Peel Building University of Salford Salford, M5 4WX [email protected] http://www.salford.ac.uk/cst/research/applied-archaeology/greater-manchester- archaeological-advisory-service

Tel: 0161 295 5522

3.0 Greater Manchester Historic Environment Record (GM HER)

3.1 The database now has 18,975 individual entries comprising: monuments, find spots, listed buildings, local historic interest buildings, historic places and ancient landscapes. There are also 54,000 records for the Historic Landscape Characterisation dataset. These are supported by 91,770 images and a substantial paper archive and library.

3.2 Over the past year 71 grey literature reports have been entered onto the database, 151 new Monument records created and 5370 existing Monument records updated. 70 new event records have been added, 19 new listed buildings entered, and GMAAS have responded to 44 consultations from Historic England on proposals for listing or amendments to existing designations.

3.3 A key role of the HER, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, is to advise applicants and their agents on the location and character of known heritage assets within a proposal area. GMAAS have provided HER data to 121 development enquirers; additionally advice has been provided on appropriate archaeological mitigation. Where there is an archaeological interest, the developer will often appoint an archaeological consultant to compile a report; this may involve a visit to GMAAS to seek information in the HER library of archaeology reports and publications which supplement the HER database. There were 33 visits to the GMAAS office to consult the HER library. 3.4 In addition to development-related enquiries, information from the HER is also used to provide input into individual Historic Environment Farm Environment Records

Page 62 2 (HEFERs) for Countryside Stewardship scheme applications. In the last year the HER Officer has responded to 38 HEFER consultations. This compares with 29 during the same period in the previous financial year. The HER has also been consulted 10 times by students/researchers and 12 times by members of the public.

3.5 HER Backlog A number of grey literature reports have been entered onto the HER, but the quantity of new reports means that it is impossible to tackle the backlog. The HER Officer updates records when consultants request HER data for a particular proposal site and a certain radius search around it. Some volunteer time has been spent on entering old reports and work is nearly complete on checking records to make sure we have an up-to-date understanding of the scale of the backlog and that reports are correctly logged onto the HER.

3.6 Greater Manchester Textile Mill Survey GMAAS completed Stage 2 of this Historic England-funded project in the summer of 2017. District reports were provided to authorities together with a Greater Manchester- wide overview report. A comprehensive Buildings at Risk database was prepared for the 9 districts containing surviving mills. Designated mill entries were updated online and the GM Historic Environment Record was enhanced for development management and research purposes. An Executive Summary leaflet was published for Historic England’s official launch of their commissioned study ‘Engines of Prosperity: new uses for old mills’ at an event on 22nd November in Manchester. The results of the survey were also presented as a PowerPoint presentation to: Historic England North West Regional team, GM Planning Officers Group, GM Conservation Officers Group, the Princes Regeneration Trust BRICK Catalyst Workshop on textile mills, and the GM Archaeology Day.

The survey found that a total of 540 historic textile mills survive across Greater Manchester, a 45% reduction in numbers since the previous survey of the late 1980s. 20% of the mills were found to be ‘at risk’ of complete loss (108 mills), 28% vulnerable and 52% at ‘low risk’, with many of the latter being well maintained and in sustainable use. The total floor space in the surviving mills is approximately 40.5 million square feet,

Page 63 3 with around 31% (12.5 million square feet) vacant or under-used. The report was partnered by a study by Cushman & Wakefield into economic models for new uses.

3.7 Salford Local Plan land allocations GMAAS have been working with Salford City Council to identify historic environment interests in relation to 21 proposed land allocations for housing and employment. This work focuses on the archaeological interest and significance, and involves a screening exercise with more detailed desk-based assessment and site walkover survey for those allocations deemed to have potential significance. This project is ongoing.

3.8 North West Regional Research Framework for the Historic Environment GMAAS are helping the Centre for Applied Archaeology manage and deliver this project to update the Framework to reflect the last 11 years of archaeological investigations in the North West. There have been nine research workshops over the last year: six period ones, and one each on built heritage, strategy and community. These sessions have taken place across the North West and engaged a wide section of the historic environment community. The previous research framework has been reviewed and updated, and set out in a new format of questions, supporting statements and strategies. These will complement the updated resource assessments and bibliographies prepared in 2017. A final conference will be held on Saturday 28th April to present case studies for each period, highlighting some of the updated research questions. There will be a point- in-time publication later this year, but the updated NW Research Framework will go onto an interactive wiki platform being prepared by Historic England. Research frameworks in the North East of England, East of England, South Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Wolds are also underway, although the North West study is at a more advanced stage.

4.0 Advice and Dissemination

4.1 GMAAS have attended a large number of meetings over the year, mainly in relation to development sites but also connected to working with regional and national peer and policy groups. A wide range of presentations have been given to help disseminate the story of the remarkable archaeological investigations that have taken place in Greater Manchester. A growing number of enquiries have been dealt with, mainly from developer

Page 64 4 agents pre-application but also from students, members of the public and local authority officers. GMAAS, in partnership with Historic England, have delivered two Archaeology & Planning workshops to Salford and Trafford Planners.

DISTRICT Meetings Lectures & HER consults – Presentations Data provided Bolton 1 1 2 Bury 2 – 7 Manchester 42 5 41 Oldham 5 2 5 Rochdale 4 1 9 Salford 33 4 15 Stockport 20 2 11 Tameside 4 – 3 Trafford 3 1 17 Wigan 3 – 9 Multi-district/general 32 13 2 TOTAL 149 29 121

Table showing meetings, talks and consultations

5.0 Planning Work

5.1 GMAAS were consulted on 73 Written Schemes of Investigation (WSI) supplied in accordance with archaeology planning conditions. These set out an agreed programme and methodology of archaeological works for the investigation process and post- investigation analysis, dissemination of results and archive deposition. An agreed WSI does not in itself satisfy a planning condition but formally identifies each stage of the archaeological process to be implemented to meet the requirements of the condition. Progress towards fulfilment can then be monitored against the WSI.

5.2 During the last year, GMAAS undertook 52 monitoring visits to archaeological investigations being undertaken on development sites. The purpose of these visits was

Page 65 5 to check that archaeological work was being undertaken in accordance with the agreed WSIs to comply with planning conditions. The visits also allowed discussion of further mitigation requirements or adjustments to the agreed methodologies based on the nature of the evidence being revealed, and made sure that professional standards were being adhered to.

5.3 The HER now has 2,876 grey literature reports in its library. These mostly report on the results of archaeological investigations undertaken as part of the planning system. They include Environmental Statements (ES), Heritage Statements (HS), Desk-Based Assessments (DBA), Building Surveys (BS), Evaluations such as geophysical survey and trial trenching (EVAL), Excavations (EXC), Surveys (SURV) and Watching Briefs (WB). There is currently a backlog of around 900 reports waiting to be entered onto the HER database.

5.4 Over the last year GMAAS have received 182 reports to place in the HER (26 fewer than last year). These are checked by GMAAS staff to make sure they properly represent the heritage interest of the study area and conform to professional standards. As might be expected, by far the largest contribution is for Manchester, which reflects the high level of development in the city centre. The breakdown of report types by district is set out in the following table:

ES HS DBA BS EVAL EXC SURV WB TOTAL BO 2 – 2 5 1 -– 1 1 12 BU – 1 1 – 2 – 1 1 6 MA 1 12 28 3 11 8 1 4 68 OL – – 2 1 1 1 – – 5 RO – 1 3 1 1 – 1 1 8 SA – 3 18 1 3 1 1 1 28 ST – 3 2 6 3 4 1 3 22 TA – – 3 1 5 1 2 – 12 TR – – 3 – – – 1 – 4 WI 1 1 5 1 4 2 3 – 17 TOTAL 4 21 67 19 31 17 12 11 182

Breakdown of report types by district

Page 66 6 5.5 The archaeological work was undertaken by 43 separate organisations, reflecting the wide range of archaeological contractors and consultants operating in Greater Manchester.

5.6 GMAAS received 85 formal consultations from planning officers on requests to discharge archaeological planning conditions, nearly double last year’s figure. There were 56 recommendations for partial discharge and 29 for complete discharge. Usually, discharge is only recommended when all the archaeological works have been implemented, although partial discharge can be agreed when, for instance, the WSI is approved or the site work is completed. The final stages of the process require GMAAS to be in receipt of a satisfactory report of the investigation results, demonstrating that the archive of the investigation has been or will be deposited with an appropriate record centre or museum, and that the results have been disseminated in a manner commensurate with their significance. The latter can range from simply depositing the report with the HER to producing information boards, a popular booklet or even a more academic monograph.

6.0 Planning Consultations

6.1 In the year to March 31st 2018 the LPAs in Greater Manchester received 20,362 planning applications. This is an increase of 586 on the previous year, or a c 2.9% rise. This increase in the overall number of planning applications being received by the LPAs is reflected in the number and rate of consultations received by GMAAS, which has also risen. In the same period GMAAS was consulted by the LPAs on 318 planning applications, an increase of 25 on the previous year (293), or 8.5%. However, this represents only c 1.5% of all planning applications received by the LPAs. Over the past 12 months the rate of planning application consultation has, on average, been just over 26.5 per calendar month.

Page 67 7 District Planning Consultations Consultations Consultations applications received by with no with an received by GMAAS archaeological archaeological LPAs interest implication Bolton 2246 21 15 6 Bury 1242 13 4 9 Manchester 4024 108 46 62 Oldham 1427 13 11 2 Rochdale 1331 25 18 7 Salford 1652 39 15 24 Stockport 3282 36 18 18 Tameside 1023 19 9 10 Trafford 2654 27 15 12 Wigan 1481 17 9 8 TOTALS 20362 318 160 158

Table showing planning consultation statistics for the year

6.2 Arising out of the LPA planning consultations, GMAAS have offered a range of recommendations in respect of the need or otherwise for further information or work. Of the 318 consultations received by GMAAS, 160 (50.5%) were judged to have no impact upon the archaeological interest. For the remaining 158 (49.5%) GMAAS recommended that some form of further archaeological work (assessment, evaluation, excavation, watching brief, building recording) should be undertaken. This compares with 150 in the previous year.

6.3 It should be noted that during the year no planning consultations received by GMAAS led to a recommendation for outright refusal; however, in several instances deferment was advised pending the submission of appropriate information in line with NPPF policies.

6.4 For most of the consultations requiring an archaeological input, GMAAS recommended that the archaeological interest could be dealt with as part of a conditioned programme. In all such cases GMAAS provided suggested wording for the

Page 68 8 necessary condition based upon the model condition which is now set out in paragraph 37 of Historic England’s Historic Environment Good Practice Advice in Planning: Note 2: Decision-Taking in the Historic Environment.

No Impact 160 Predetermination 25 Assessment/ Evaluation Conditioned Programme 133 of Archaeological Work TOTAL 318

Table showing consultation recommendations

6.5 In addition to the planning application consultations, in 2017–18 GMAAS responded to some 25 pre-application consultations, all of which had a recommendation for an archaeological desk-based assessment.

6.6 The trend noted in the last year or so for previously dormant, large development schemes to become active continued into 2017–18. This has had consequences for the workload of GMAAS staff. Site meetings, briefs, site visits and reading the resulting assessments and fieldwork reports for these sites have taken up a significant amount of staff time.

7.0 Planning Case Studies

7.1 The last year has continue the trend of Manchester dominating planning consultations and archaeological work. However, of particular note has been a marked increase in large-scale developments in Salford’s historic core. The largest and most intensive archaeological investigations have been along the Chapel Street corridor and in the Greengate area. Elsewhere large housing developments have continued to come forward in Wigan and now in Rochdale district, whilst Stockport continues to be busy with a range of development types.The following section briefly describes a selection of

Page 69 9 case studies of archaeological projects from last year that have come out of the planning process. These are selected to illustrate the diversity of project types and outcomes.

7.2 Bolton

7.2.1 Hulton Park This grade 2 listed park has been subject to a complex planning application by Peel to create a golf course, hotel complex and major housing scheme. The park once belonged to the Hulton family, who had considerable status and wealth in the medieval period. A range of archaeological investigations, including desk-based and historic building assessments together with targeted geophysical survey, have been undertaken to identify archaeological sites and provide an understanding of their relative significance; these will also inform an appropriate scheme of further mitigation should the development go ahead. This large-scale landscape is a ‘blank canvas’ as no previous archaeological work has been undertaken here. Key sites include three former hall sites, the walled garden, ruined farm outbuildings, miners’ cottages and colliery sites, landscape features, medieval and possible prehistoric features within the former parkland, as well as historic parkland features. Archaeological reports formed part of a package of over 600 supporting documents submitted with the planning application. Permission has recently been granted and GMAAS recommended a scheme of archaeological works to secure archaeological interests. The first stage is to undertake an extensive evaluation through targeted trial trenching to better define the archaeological resource.

Page 70 10

Entrance to the walled garden showing the Hulton family stag head crest above the doorway with two rampant Hulton lions either side. This decorative stonework was taken from the Hulton chapel at Deane Church.

Earthworks representing the site of a former farm within the parkland

7.3 Bury

7.3.1 East Lancashire Papermill site GMAAS responded to several pre-application consultations including the former paper mill site. We were able to inform Bury LPA that an archaeological desk-based assessment and evaluation trenching had been carried out several years ago for a

Page 71 11 previous scheme which never went forward. The evaluation demonstrated that a putative Roman road did not exist but that there were extensive and well-preserved remains of an early 19th century bleach works. This previous work allows GMAAS to give clear direction on the archaeological interest and further mitigation, providing certainty and managing risk for the applicant. Other pre-application enquiries included Bleaklow Hall, a former 13th century hall site, and Mountheath Industrial Estate, an early 19th century former bleachworks, both of which require an archaeological desk-based assessment to inform the need for and nature of further mitigation.

Well-preserved remains of the former bleach works at the East Lancashire Papermill site

7.4 Manchester

7.4.1 2–4 Chester Road A large-scale apartment development next to the Bridgewater Canal Basin terminus saw a programme of archaeological works ahead of groundworks. Salford Archaeology excavated the remains of the former canal basin manager’s house, terraced cottages, brick arched stabling, a former riverside wall, and Roman deposits that had accumulated on the old River Medlock river bank. A final phase of excavation will focus on a former river channel that contains Roman rubbish.

Page 72 12

Looking at the excavated terraced cottages beside the canal basin, with the Beetham Tower in the background. Several sherds of high-quality Roman Samian ware were found, including one depicting a bear.

7.4.2 Circle Square Plot 14 The final excavation at the former BBC North by Pre-Construct Archaeology involved recording the site of back-to-back workers’ housing next to Armstrong House. Adjacent to the housing was a 19th century print works site which produced some printing blocks including a fine bee motif.

Overhead view of excavated workers’ housing and, on the right, archaeological recording

Page 73 13

Bee motif on 19th century printing block

7.4.3 Mabel Tylecote Building The Mabel Tylecote Building was erected in the 1960s on the site of the early 19th century Chorlton Town Hall, although the colonnaded façade of the Hall was retained as a listed building. As part of the demolition of the 1960s structure ahead of redevelopment for Manchester Metropolitan University, it was necessary to support the listed façade. During this process several voids were discovered under the pavement immediately in front of the façade which required stabilisation works. Research showed that these were the remains of six police cells which formed part of the town hall and dated to the 1830s. A condition was attached to make a laser scan survey of the cells, which are Manchester’s oldest surviving police cells, and an archaeological watching brief recorded further details during stabilisation works. In one of the cells were parts of a decorative fireplace which were also recorded, and are thought to have come from the original Town Hall. It is intended to display these with a commemorative plaque to explain this fascinating element of Manchester’s history.

Page 74 14

One of the police cells with the remnants of the fire surround, with detailed photos of the decorative panel below

7.5 Oldham

7.5.1 Hollinwood DBA An application for an employment-led mixed-use large-scale scheme at Hollinwood was submitted with neither a heritage statement nor an archaeological desk-based assessment, contrary to NPPF policy 128. The Historic Environment Record showed several sites of potential archaeological interest, including a Roman road on the southern site boundary, the site of a hat manufactory and later mills, early coal mining and a 16th century coin find. A condition was attached to planning consent requiring a programme of archaeological works. CFA Archaeology have carried out the initial phase,

Page 75 15 a desk-based assessment, with a follow-up scheme of trenching to test for identified potential archaeological features recently approved by GMAAS.

1848 OS map, showing the Hollinwood development site boundary overlaid

7.6 Rochdale

7.6.1 Hare Hill Mill, Littleborough Hare Hill Mill, more recently named Proofings Technology Ltd, originated in the first half of the 19th century as a weaving mill before being reconfigured as a blanket mill in the early 20th century. Set within a Conservation Area, permission was granted for a housing scheme which involves demolition of most of the mill but retaining historic structures fronting the road. GMAAS requested a historic building survey to record the mill for research and archive interests. This was undertaken by The Jessop Consultancy. Further archaeological work has concentrated on understand the origins of the mill, especially the potential for water power and steam power. Several phases of construction have been found in evaluation trenches and this will now lead on to a targeted open-area excavation.

Page 76 16

1900 illustration of Hare Hill Mill showing the original spinning block on the left, which was demolished by 1950 and formed the focus of evaluation trenching (right). A recent major fire (below) destroyed the 1920 three-storey blanket mill.

7.6.2 Rochdale Riverside A major development in Rochdale town centre saw an archaeological desk-based assessment followed by a programme of targeted trial trenches to examine the level of survival and relative significance of potential archaeological remains; these included textile mills, chapels and workers’ housing. The trenches established that most of the archaeological interest had been removed by 20th century development, including the former bus station. However, the eastern side of the proposal area had better survival and a final phase of archaeological excavation saw significant remains of mid-19th century workers’ housing and a 19th century chapel exposed and recorded. It is intended to commemorate the site’s history and archaeology through on-site interpretation including use of decorative stonework from the chapel within the public realm, together with a Greater Manchester’s Past Revealed booklet.

Page 77 17

Rochdale Riverside: excavation of mid-19th century workers’ housing

7.7 Salford

7.7.1 Embankment West Ahead of demolition of the former brick railway arches that once formed the approach to Exchange Station, GMAAS required a survey record to be made of the late 19th century arches together with excavation of the ground between the Victorian piers. This work was undertaken by Pre-Construct Archaeology prior to demolition. The latter revealed remains within the former historic core of Salford, alongside Greengate. Features ranged from a medieval stone building to 18th century fireplaces.

Page 78 18

Laser scan survey of the brick railway arches and, right, remains of a medieval sandstone building

7.7.2 The Crescent A large-scale apartment development on the historic Crescent routeway allowed archaeologists from Salford Archaeology to explore the site of White Bank, a small hamlet lying just to the west of the city’s historic core. The locally listed Black Horse Hotel was in too poor a condition to save and was recorded through a historic building survey prior to demolition. The site was assessed for archaeological remains through an extensive programme of trial trenching, targeting four key areas. These revealed an interesting range of former building types: high-quality townhouses of the wealthy fronting onto The Crescent, small-scale back-to-backs for the urban poor, and the basement of a substantial stone- founded building of possible 17th century date that had been converted to cellars for use as workers’ housing.

The former, locally listed, Black Horse Hotel (left); view looking down across one of the excavation areas (right)

Page 79 19 7.7.3 Blackfriars Redevelopment of the land behind Blackfriars pub and alteration of the pub for residential use led to Salford Archaeology undertaking a scheme of works, including a historic building survey of the Grade 2 listed pub. Excavation of a rubbish pit behind the pub, along with some fine examples of cellar dwellings, yielded an excellent range of domestic pottery, clay pipes and bottles. The pottery included 18th century pearl ware and a complete 19th century stoneware jar.

Survey drawing of pub façade and some of the finds (right)

7.7.4 Charlestown Riverside The final stage of the Keepmoat housing development at Pendleton saw Salford Archaeology reveal and record the extensive remains of the 19th century Douglas Green Bleachworks which replaced the late medieval corn mill attached to the manorial hall at Pendleton. The site of the hall and its farm complex had been excavated in the previous year by LP Archaeology. The bleachworks contained a series of stone bleaching tanks, a series of engine houses and remains of cast-iron line shafting boxes, along with an impressive water channel which might have been adapted from the original water- powered corn mill. A Greater Manchester’s Past Revealed publication will be produced to disseminate the development site’s remarkable archaeology and history to the local and wider population.

Page 80 20

Aerial view of the extensive excavations of the Douglas Green Bleach Works

7.8 Stockport

7.8.1 Newbridge Lane Mill One of Stockport’s oldest surviving mill complexes, at Newbridge Lane, had fallen into disrepair, and its dangerous condition led to an application for a demolition notice. This was granted on condition that an archaeological survey be undertaken first. This was carried out by Matrix Archaeology, with historical research undertaken by Dr Pete Arrowsmith. The building was found to be late 18th century in origin and contained some of the earliest surviving cast-iron framing in the region.

The former late 18th century spinning block at Newbridge Lane Mill

Page 81 21 7.8.2 Covent Garden GMAAS recommended a planning condition to secure archaeological investigations at this large-scale housing scheme located beside Middle Hillgate just south of Stockport’s historic centre. Remains of a mid-18th century silk mill, early cellar dwellings, and the site of the world’s largest Sunday School were uncovered and recorded. The site was at the top of Crowther’s Steps, made famous by Lowry’s painting. At GMAAS’s request there were guided tours for the public one lunchtime and these were very well attended. There will be a Greater Manchester’s Past Revealed booklet on this fascinating site.

Excavating the brick foundation of the Sunday school site, which is depicted on the right in a centennial medal of 1884; at one time the school had 2000 pupils enrolled.

Early 19th century back-to-back workers’ dwellings being excavated alongside Crowther’s Steps with, right, a 1919 ‘peace’ button recovered from a backfilled cellar.

Page 82 22 7.9 Tameside

7.9.1 Denton Hall The site of Denton Hall had previously been excavated by Denton Local History Society in 1980 and then by the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit ahead of development of the site in 1997. However, a small part of the possible moat area lay outside the previous development so when a new scheme came forward, GMAAS recommended a final excavation of the site. This produced some remarkable archaeology. In one small area there survived a part of the original timber bridge across the moat, dated by dendrochronology to the early 16th century.

Matrix Archaeology recording the remains of the sole plate, with tie beams to the left and slots for uprights

7.10 Trafford

7.10.1 Regent Road, Altrincham A desk-based assessment was submitted with an application for a large-scale residential scheme. This identified the archaeological interest as relating to remains from the industrial period, in particular potential buried remains of early to late 19th century housing and industrial structures along Hope Square, Albert Street and parts of Chapel Street, plus a late 18th century Wesleyan Chapel site. The study concluded that the

Page 83 23 archaeology is not of national significance and can therefore be removed by development as long as an appropriate archaeological record is made. The area was once densely packed with housing and became noted in World War 1 for the large number of men, 161 from just 60 houses, that volunteered – gaining recognition and praise from King George V. GMAAS recommended that a scheme of archaeological trenching, more detailed excavation and appropriate dissemination and commemoration are undertaken.

Altrincham Health Board plan from 1852 showing the character of the housing (left), and the blue plaque commemorating the volunteers from Chapel Street

7.11 Wigan

7.11.1 Coldalhurst Lane At Astley, Redrow Homes funded a programme of archaeological investigation as part of the development of 4ha of land. The main archaeological interest came from the historic building survey undertaken by Oxford Archaeology North of Coldahurst Farm, which turned out to be a 17thcentury timber-framed building hidden by later extensions and alterations. A range of farm outbuildings, some of probable 18th century origin, were also of note.

Page 84 24

Coldahurst Farm with, right, an interior view showing a 17th century chamfered beam

8.0 Community Engagement

8.1 GMAAS and the Centre for Applied Archaeology organised a Greater Manchester Archaeology Day at Peel Hall on 25th November 2017, supported by the Greater Manchester Archaeology Federation. The event was attended by 160 people who saw presentations by ten speakers on a range of archaeological projects carried out over the previous year. The Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennet, gave the keynote address (the Brian Grimsditch Memorial Lecture) following a welcome by Professor Sheila Pankhurst, Dean of the School of Environment and Life Sciences. There were also displays from local societies and the Centre, as well as book sales and refreshments.

8.2 Greater Manchester Archaeology Festival

The first ever Greater Manchester Archaeology Festival was held from the 22nd to the 25th June. It had 17 free events to choose from across Greater Manchester and nearly every member of the Federation took part. Organised by the Centre for Applied Archaeology at the University of Salford in conjunction with the Greater Manchester Archaeology Federation, the festival aimed to increase access, encourage the exploration, and celebrate the archaeology of Greater Manchester. Just over 300 members of the public took part with activities ranging from walks and talks to surveys and excavations on sites dating from the Roman period to the 20th century. The Greater Manchester Federation Newsletter for October 2017 described the activities put on by societies at the Festival. Two of the Festival events are shown below.

Page 85 25

The Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society ran guided tours of the Tudor period Hall i’ th’ Wood north of Bolton. The Society were able to show examples of ancient graffiti, including protective markings, as they have recently undertaken a graffiti survey of the hall. This forms part of the sider Greater Manchester Graffiti Survey (set up and run by Federation members).

Tameside Archaeology Society’s display at Portland Basin Museum included the opportunity to handle finds.

8.3 Marple Lime Kilns GMAAS have provided advice on the community excavation and future management of the lime kilns that were built 1797–1802 and form a Scheduled Monument, which is currently on the Historic England ‘At Risk’ register. The Oldknow’s Legacy project saw a final community archaeology dig on the site of the weigh houses. A Friends of Marple Lime Kilns group has been formed to take forward future management and funding applications to protect and restore the site.

Page 86 26 8.4 Castleshaw Hinterland Survey Each year the Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts undertake geophysical survey and evaluation trenching to provide an understanding of the archaeological potential and significance of land around the Scheduled Roman Forts site, but also further afield in other parts of Castleshaw Valley. Recent work by the volunteers has characterised the nature of Roman deposits and features on the north side of the fort defences. Additionally, investigations on the floor of the valley alongside the Roman road have come across a large medieval building, probably part of the 13th century Cistercian grange that once belonged to Roche Abbey.

Archaeological recording of remains of the grange building in the Castleshaw Valley in Saddleworth

9.0 Publications

9.1 The Greater Manchester’s Past Revealed Series There are a number of these in the pipeline. Four are close to publication, these being:

1) Architecture, Burial and Reform: the Upper Brook Street Unitarian Chapel, Manchester (Oxford Archaeology North). This will be volume 19 in the series. 2) Stayley Hall, Stalybridge: the history and archaeology of a medieval manor house (York Archaeological Trust). 90% complete and publication expected in September. 3) Castle Irwell: a meander through time (Salford Archaeology). 90% complete

Page 87 27 4) Salford’s Early Past (Centre for Applied Archaeology). In preparation by Mike Nevell, based on an exhibition on Salford’s Archaeology which was shown at Hall and is currently being reconfigured for Salford Central railway station foyer.

Front and back cover of GM Past Revealed Volume 19 – now at the printers.

9.2 A number of other Greater Manchester’s Past Revealed booklets have been secured through developer and community funding:

- Kingsway Business Park, Rochdale (OAN) - Cutacre Opencast, Bolton/Salford/Wigan (OAN) - Cross Street Chapel and Graveyard – Metrolink Second city crossing (CfA Leeds) - Swinton Unitarian Church graveyard (OAN) - Dig Greater Manchester (CFAA) x 2 - Ordsall Chord, Salford and Manchester railway heritage (Salford Archaeology) - Woodford Aerodrome, Stockport (CgMs Consulting) - Bridgefield Street, Stockport (OAN/Salford Archaeology) - Owen Street, Castlefield (Salford Archaeology) - Pendleton Hall and Douglas Green (LP Archaeology and Salford Archaeology) - Chapel Wharf (Salford Archaeology) - Gore Street and The Crescent (Salford Archaeology) - Covent Garden, Stockport (Salford Archaeology) - Rochdale Riverside (Salford Archaeology)

GMAAS provide quality control and write a foreword for each booklet. The series provides a format for publishing significant archaeology from developer-funded, research or community projects in an attractive, easy-to-read, well-illustrated style. As well as

Page 88 28 describing the archaeology of the particular site in question, the booklets provide a historical framework for the wider area.

9.3 Monographs are being prepared on some of the most significant archaeological work in Greater Manchester. These are larger format and more academic books which provide detailed accounts and target a much wider audience. Currently in preparation are:

- New Bailey Prison, Salford (following on from the next phase of excavation in June/July) - A combined publication on the former 17th century farming landscapes at Cutacre former opencast mine site (straddling Wigan, Bolton and Salford) and Kingsway business park development in Rochdale – this is nearly complete - Arkwright’s Mill, Manchester (part of the NOMA regeneration project)

11.0 Conclusion It can be seen that 2017–18 has been an extremely busy year for GMAAS, with an increase across the spectrum of development control activities. Added to this has been the successful input by GMAAS staff to several special projects, as well as an increase in public dissemination.

Norman Redhead Heritage Management Director (Archaeology) 25th April 2018

Page 89 29 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 5e

Part 1 - Open to the public ITEM NO.

REPORT OF

The Strategic Director for Place

TO

Procurement Board

ON

9th January 2019

TITLE: Appointment of Contractors under the Minor Building Works Framework Agreements

RECOMMENDATIONS: That Procurement Board:

(1) Following an extensive tendering and evaluation process, approve the awarding of the places under a Framework Agreement for the following:-

Minor Building Works Framework Agreements to the Contractors as detailed in the report

Detail required Title/Description of Contracted Appointment of Contractors under the Minor Service/Supply/Project Building Works Framework Agreements Name of Successful Contractor See lists within the report Lot 1 £0 - £150,000 Contract Value Full Project Lot 2 £150,000 - £500,000 24 months plus options of 2 no 1 yearly Contract Duration extensions Contract Start Date 01/02/2019 Contract End Date 31/01/2021 Optional Extension Period 1 12 months Optional Extension Period 2 12 months Who will approve each Extension Procurement Board (extension > £150k) Period? Contact Officer (Name & number) Gregory Durkin 0161 779 4942

Page 91 1 Lead Service Group Place Support Service Group Urban Vision Partnership Ltd How the contract was procured? Tender (Open) (to be supplied by Corporate Procurement) Framework Details (where applicable) (Procurement Body, Framework Reference & N/A Title, Start/End Dates, Hyperlink, etc.)

Funding Source Capital & Revenue Programmes

Following the evaluation process the companies in order of score ranking proposed for selection are:

Lot 1 – Value Band £0 - £150,000

Company Name Post Code Registered Number Schofield & Sons Limited M30 9PS 2459259 City Build Manchester Limited M28 0SG 3414425 Truline Construction & Interior Services Ltd WN5 0LD 2131606 Wrightbuild Ltd M46 0AG 01401191 G Jones Ltd M28 5FJ 4928174 New Charter Building Company Limited SK16 4XP 3807120 Harry Fairclough Construction WA1 2DN 1305987

Lot 2 – Value Band £150,000 - £500,000 Company Name Post Code Registered Number Warden Construction Limited PR4 2HU 533082 City Build Manchester Limited M28 0SG 3414425 Whitfield & Brown (Developments) Ltd WA8 0RP 01060958 Truline Construction & Interior Services Ltd WN5 0LD 2131606 Schofield & Sons Limited M30 9PS 2459259 Seddon Construction Ltd BL4 0NN 03578140 Wrightbuild Ltd M46 0AG 01401191 Harry Fairclough Construction WA1 2DN 1305987

Page 92 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The report sets out for consideration the details for the appointment of Contractors under the Minor Building Works Framework Agreements.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: Tender submissions and pricing documentation Exempt under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 – Tender Submission and Evaluation documents.

KEY DECISION: YES

DETAILS:

1.0 Background

Salford City Council (the Council) have invited tenders for two new framework agreements for the provision of construction and refurbishment works (across the values of £0 to 150k and £150k to £500k) to all Council owned or controlled non- housing premises.

A framework agreement is an overarching agreement setting out terms and conditions for subsequent award of a contract, but which places no obligations on the Council to purchase any goods, services or works. A framework agreement itself is not a contract to carry out the works. Contracts to carry out the works are only formed once work is awarded under the framework agreement.

The aim of this framework agreement is to provide a high quality list of building contractors with the technical specialism offering construction services to Council buildings and premises across Salford.

Specialist works and/or those that require approved contractors, installers or specific specialist skills etc. and those that fall outside the scope of the below may be procured by the Council outside of the framework agreement.

The bid documents included for the appointment of up to ten suitably qualified contractors for each Lot to provide for minor building works across the Council.

The successful bidders will be required to undertake all the activities within the scope and coverage of the Framework Agreement.

There is no guarantee of any work under the framework agreements and contractors will only be paid for work agreed and completed under a Purchase Order.

The framework shall be for a period of 2 years, with the option to extend for a further two (2) periods of 12 months (a maximum of 4 years), and is intended to commence on 1st February 2019. The services required can include for but are not limited to:

Page 93 3  Groundwork  Joinery  Plumbing and Drainage  Electrical and Mechanical  Roofing & Cladding  General Building Work  Glazing  Any other works of a similar nature

Demolition, landscaping and associated services are covered under separate agreements.

2.0 The Tendering Process

2.1 The tender documents were published under the OJEU process and also on the CHEST via Contract Finder.

2.2 Twenty nine companies submitted tenders across the two category lots and these have been evaluated in accordance with the selection criteria.

2.3 The award evaluation tested bidders on their overall company structure and their ability to deliver identified and specific activities for each of the value bands and specialised tasks under minor works at this time. Submitted prices were taken into consideration and a separate pricing evaluation took place. In addition to this the panel also considered bidders’ approach to site management and organisation, social value and their commitment to making an economic and social contribution to the City.

2.4 The evaluation scores are as follows:-

Page 94 4 Lot 1 Lot 2 Quality Price Total Quality Price Total Number Score Score Score Successful Score Score Score Successful 1 0% 0.00% 0.00% 21% 40.62% 61.62% 2 22% 42.54% 64.54% 25% 36.28% 61.28% 3 0% 0.00% 0.00% 23% 36.83% 59.83% 4 34% 42.79% 76.79%  35% 42.06% 77.06%  5 0% 0.00% 0.00% 20% 40.92% 60.92% 6 0% 0.00% 0.00% 22% 41.80% 63.80% 7 32% 41.44% 73.44%  27% 37.14% 64.14% 8 0% 0.00% 0.00% 0% 0.00% 0.00% 9 30% 41.74% 71.74%  29% 38.05% 67.05%  10 0% 0.00% 0.00% 0% 0.00% 0.00% 11 0% 13.50% 13.50% 18% 46.00% 64.00% 12 0% 0.00% 0.00% 0% 0.00% 0.00% 13 6% 40.46% 46.46% 9% 35.24% 44.24% 14 0% 13.50% 13.50% 23% 19.36% 42.36% 15 20% 41.48% 61.48% 20% 42.07% 62.07% 16 0% 0.00% 0.00% 28% 21.51% 49.51% 17 30% 41.94% 71.94%  29% 34.50% 63.50% 18 0% 0.00% 0.00% 24% 35.73% 59.73% 19 0% 0.00% 0.00% 20% 36.75% 56.75% 20 0% 0.00% 0.00% 26% 37.35% 63.35% 21 28% 50.48% 78.48%  26% 43.56% 69.56%  22 0% 0.00% 0.00% 30% 39.41% 69.41%  23 0% 0.00% 0.00% 0% 0.00% 0.00% 24 30% 46.67% 76.67%  29% 41.65% 70.65%  25 30% 38.60% 68.60% 0% 0.00% 0.00% 26 0% 0.00% 0.00% 29% 53.70% 82.70%  27 0% 0.00% 0.00% 0% 0.00% 0.00% 28 0% 0.00% 0.00% 29% 41.97% 70.97%  29 28% 47.80% 75.80%  26% 42.27% 68.27% 

No tender submitted

The final proposal for Lots 1 and 2 were determined from natural break points on the scoring matrix whereby the highest scores (over 70% for Lot 1, and over 65% for Lot 2) were considered.

It should be noted that the Bid criteria stated that the highest ranked contractor in Lot 1 (Schofield & Sons Ltd) would be automatically offered any works up to the value of £30,000. If that Contractor is unavailable to carry out the Works then the next highest ranked Contractor will be contacted to undertake the works and so on.

3.0 Social Value

Page 95 5 Social value was covered under the tendering arrangements and scoring criteria. In particular the following were addressed:

 Promoting traineeships, apprenticeships and employment of local labour  Promoting supply chain opportunities to new and small enterprises  Commitment to pay Salford Living Wage  Demonstrating delivering improved environmental outcomes  Minimising waste  Safe disposal of waste materials  Participation and involvement in the principles of the City Mayor Charter. The Council will work with the Framework Providers to maximise social value through the framework.

KEY COUNCIL POLICIES

Connecting People to Opportunities, Salford’s Sustainable Communities Strategy Procurement Strategy

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS:

Work with construction projects is valuable in supporting local employment and in supporting local supply chains in construction work. This in turn aids the growth and regeneration of the City.

ASSESSMENT OF RISK: Low

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Tony Hatton, Principal Solicitor, Tel.0161 219 6323.

The report sets out the details for appointing bidders to the Council’s Minor Works Framework Agreements which are due for renewal. There are two category values (£0 - £150,000 and £150,000 - £500,000) for which contractors require to be appointed.

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services, or the execution of works, the Council must comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s), failing which a contract may be subject to legal challenge from an aggrieved provider.

The purpose of a framework agreement is to select through a procurement/ evaluation process a number of providers who can meet the service requirements of the Council, as and when those services are required. The work undertaken thus far

Page 96 6 is explained throughout the report, and sets out the issues and tender process involved, including the evaluation of bids, to ensure compliance with PCR and CSO’s.

A total of twenty-nine tenders were received from framework suppliers across the two value lots which have been evaluated in accordance with the procurement procedures and selection criteria set out in the tender documents resulting in the proposed appointment to the frameworks of the contractors listed in the report under Lots 1 and 2.

The award procedures therefore appear robust and compliant with the requirements of public procurement legislation and the Council’s CSO’s.

Legal Services will assist with preparing any contractual documentation upon receipt of instructions to ensure the Council’s position and interests are protected.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Chris Mee (Strategic Finance Manager) Tel: 0161 778 0434

There are no direct financial implications for the Council from the awarding of places on the framework. However it will provide clear guidance to officers procuring these types of works and ensure that best value is achieved.

The costs of any works carried out under the frameworks will be funded from within available resources included within the Councils approved capital and revenue programmes.

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Deborah Derbyshire (Category Manager – Corporate Procurement Team) Tel: 0161 686 6244

The opportunity was advertised in the European Journal and the Northwest Portal as an open competition inviting interested companies to submit a bid for one or both lots.

The proposal will allow us to provide clear guidance to Council Officers regarding any procurement of capital and revenue funded building projects via the two encompassing Minor Building Works Framework Agreements either by direct award for work below £30k for Lot 1 only and mini competitions for both lots around work valued above £30k up to £500k. This will ensure that all such procurement activities are compliant, therefore this complies with Contractual Standing Orders.

OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: All Service Groups, The Client Lead for Urban Vision and Regeneration.

Page 97 7 CONTACT OFFICERS: Deborah Derbyshire/Gregory Durkin Tel No: 0161 686 6244/0161 779 4942

WARDS TO WHICH REPORT RELATES: All Wards

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