Salfordcity Council - Record of Decision

SalfordCity Council - Record of Decision

I, Ian Stewart, City Mayor in exercise of the powers contained within the City Council Constitution do hereby:

Approve the contract award for the Employer Brokerage and Support Service to Employment and Regeneration Partnership Ltd (trading as Work Solutions).The contract duration for the service is from 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2015, with an option to extend to 31st March 2016. The contract value is up to a maximum of £150,000.

The Reasons are. An Open Tender process was undertaken to commission an organisation to deliver Salford’s Employer Brokerage and Support Service. Employment and Regeneration Partnership Ltd (trading as Work Solutions) received the highest aggregate score.

Options considered and rejected were to notaward the contract.

Assessment of RiskHigh

TUPE Regulations relating to current contracts mean that procurement of the Targeted IAG Service for Adults, Targeted IAG Service for Young People and the Employer Brokerage and Support Service are inter-dependent.

The current timetable allows for a three month handover period (Jan – Mar 2013) during which the successful provider(s) will deal with any requirements relating to TUPE Regulations and make effective arrangements for contract transition.

Support for this recommendation is therefore time critical and any delay may result in a break in services.

The source of fundingThe contract will be funded from within the existing Skills and Work revenue budget to a maximum value of £150k.

Legal Advice obtainedSupplied by: Tony Hatton, Principal Solicitor 0161 219 6323

The City Council has various commitments and priorities to provide the services referred to in the body of the report (and detailed in the earlier report which was given Assistant Mayoral approval – in August 2012), to maximise employment and skills opportunities for the residents of Salford, together with details as to how The City Council proposes to fulfil those commitment and priorities and provide the services to the three core outcome areas: people, business, and place, through the Salford Family Poverty Strategy.

The commissioned service will help the local authority meet its strategic commitment to reduce family poverty, reduce worklessness, increase household income, and improve adult skills, which will all contribute to create family prosperity and improve the life chances of people in Salford as referred to in the report.

Legal has been asked to comment on any TUPE implications in respect of the new arrangements for the Employer Brokerage and Support Service recommended in the Report. The services which are currently being provided by the local authority, specified in the areas of activity, will continue to be provided, albeit in a slightly different way.

Due to the nature of the new services, TUPE Regulations relating to current contracts mean that procurement of the Targeted IAG Service for Adults, Targeted IAG Service for Young People and the Employer Brokerage and Support Service are inter-dependent. These services are referred to in the earlier report in more detail, and as to their inter-dependency and the close links between them.

In straightforward terms, the TUPE Regulations dictate that if the same, or very similar, service is to be provided by a different provider then it is highly likely that there will be TUPE implications for the staff involved. For TUPE not to apply to the affected staff, the service being provided and service users’ needs would potentially be met by other services which are structured and delivered in a distinct and dissimilar way so that they could not be seen to be fundamentally similar or essentially the same as the existing service.

Here there does not appear to be an argument of fragmentation of the service post – termination of the contract, where there will be such a difference in delivery of the service that the organised grouping of employees cannot be dedicated to the activities carried out, which would be a possible argument for TUPE not applying. The fundamental question is whether or not the service which is currently being provided will be substantially the same after re-commissioning. Does it retain its own “identity”? If the existing service does not retain its identity, then the transaction may well fall outside of the ambit of TUPE. The circumstances here do not lend themselves to that being the case however.

Whilst the retention of economic identity issue is very important, the activities carried out before any transfer must be carried out by one person, and carried out by another person after the transfer. The activities therefore must be identifiable as "the same" both pre- and post- transfer for service provision change (as defined in the TUPE Regulations) to occur.

In respect of the recommendation to award the contract to Work Solutions, a full and open tender process has been adopted, with bids being assessed appropriately, followed by formal presentation and interviews subsequently taking place.

The awarding of the contract for the Employer Brokerage and Support Service will bind the City Council for a period of two years, to run from April 2013, with an option to extend for a further one year thereafter.

When the contract is drafted, the specification should be clear and unambiguous, and arrangements put in place to ensure effective management of the contract to ensure satisfactory service delivery in line with the new specification. Legal Services will provide further advice and assistance when preparing the contract as and when instructed.

Financial Advice obtained: Supplied by Dave McAllister, Group Accountant, Tel: 0161 778 0485

Funding of £150,000 is currently available within the Skills and Work revenue budget but the overall commissioning funds in skills and work are still subject to potential savings. There are three, two year contracts, in this area that are under request for approval. Committing to two year contracts in all areas may restrict the opportunity for budget savings for 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Contact Officer:

Alison Burnett, Skills and Work Commissioning Tel No: 0161 793 2535

This decision is not subject to consideration by another Assistant Mayor /Director
The appropriate Scrutiny Select Committee to call-in the decision is the Cluster 1Scrutiny Select Committee.

Signed: Ian StewartDated: 17 December 2012.

City Mayor

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY

This decision was published on19thDecember 2012

This decision will come in force on 4thJanuary 2013,unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.