Agenda and decisions

Salford City Council - Record of Decision

I, Councillor Tracy Kelly, Statutory Deputy City Mayor and Lead Member for Housing, Property & Regeneration, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution, do hereby approve:

The service charges for the security and concierge service in Pendleton following the transfer from Salix Homes to Salford City Council.

The Reasons are that following the decision to transfer the security and concierge service in Pendleton back to the council in February 2021, we are now in a position to confirm the revised costs for the service and serve legal notice on the residents affected of the reduction in service charge.

Options considered and rejected were - a number of alternative security delivery services were considered in the February 2021 decision and rejected as part of the review.

Assessment of Risk: Medium

Investigations show that the system can be transferred back to the council and a mobilisation plan has been developed to ensure the service remains operational during this period.  The costs in the report reflect recent discussions with staff affected by TUPE and contractors’ assessments of the work required to transfer the service back to the council.

Legal Advice obtained: Tony Hatton, Manchester Legal

The report sets out the Council’s intention to bring back in-house the security and concierge services to Council-owned tower blocks in Pendleton. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Salix Homes for them to provide remote and on-site concierge services, CCTV monitoring and mobile patrols to the blocks is currently in place, but it is not clear in the report when that “Either party may terminate the provision of the Services by Salix under this Appendix by giving not less than six (6) months’ written notice to the other party",so the arrangement may be terminated by the Council serving 6 months' notice to terminate on Salix, without financial compensation becoming due. Salix are also obliged to continue to provide the services during the notice period, and to cooperate with the Council when the services are transferred to a new provider - the Council.

The Council is under a duty to provide "Best Value", and hence reserves the right to provide the services through whatever resources will provide that best value, which gives the Council flexibility to consider in-house provision without going out to the wider market.

The Council has carried out consultation exercises with tenants, residents, and partners and made a robust analysis and assessment of the service provision, concluding that bringing the service in-house will deliver best value for residents and the Council.

There are likely to be TUPE implications with the proposal, and no doubt HROD and Employment Legal Teams can provide more advice as the project develops. Whilst it is not clear how many employees may be in scope for TUPE, there is an obligation on both transferor and transferee (Salix Homes and the Council) to inform and consult with employees/unions, “long enough before the transfer” to enable consultation  ...  view the full decision text for item 5a