Decision ref
0016 2024/25
Decision date
18/07/2024
Portfolio
Economy, Business and Skills
Wards
All wards
Title
To directly award a contract to the Growth Company to deliver a business support and startup service
Summary
Directly award a contract to the Growth Company to deliver a business support and start-up service funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Purpose
The report sets out the outcome of the recent procurement exercise for a business start-up and business support service in St Helens, details the results of this process and that no acceptable bid was forthcoming. The report therefore recommends that the contract be directly awarded to The Growth Company for the delivery of the specified service.
Background
As part of its UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocation, the Council was allocated a total of £568,054 to deliver Place Based Business Support. The attached Grant Funding Agreement from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), who are acting as the lead authority on behalf of DLUHC for the LCR, sets out the requirements of the grant and the investment plan for the allocation submitted by the Council.
The Council proposed that the majority of the allocation (£330,000) be focused on the provision of a business support and business start-up service. As a separate element, the Council also identified an opportunity to develop an incubator space for social, creative and digital organisations in St Helens. Both of these elements were encapsulated into one tender specification, broken down into Lot 1 (Business Startup/Support) and Lot 2 - a business incubator space for socially trading organisations.
Lot 2 was awarded to Kindred-LCR and is the subject of a separate DED.
Lot 1 is the subject of this decision. The direct award of this contract is in line with contract and procurement guidelines and advice and is recommended for the following reasons:
1) A full open tender process was undertaken, which led to only one potentially eligible bid. This was from the St Helens Chamber. Before full assessment of the bid could take place, St Helens Chamber was wound up, leaving no eligible bids.
2) Given that the UKSPF allocation that is funding this project ends in March 2024 that left insufficient time to undertake another full tender exercise that may take months.
3) Two broad options remained: (a) utilise the allocation by taking the project 'in-house' and recruiting staff directly; or (b) find an organisation that can fulfil the specification of the tender and award the contract directly.
4) The option of taking the project in-house via recruitment was rejected after consideration as neither the time or staff/management resource was available to create an entirely new team within the Council to deliver this work.
5) Star Procurement's legal team confirmed that a direct award to a suitable company would meet procurement guidelines in the circumstances given the time constraints and the outcome of the full public tender exercise, and is specifically permitted per Regulation 32(2)(a) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015.
6) Officers researched the possibilities for credible organisations that could deliver this kind of work at short notice and to a high standard. Most organisations delivering across the Liverpool City Region already had their capacity stretched with existing UKSPF work. One organisation was engaged, however, that did fit the specification: The Growth Company.
7) The Growth Company is a national company based in Manchester that delivers, amongst other things, business support and business start-up services. It has a good reputation and already delivers work across the Liverpool City Region. It has two existing offices in St Helens, delivering employment and skills projects in the Borough. Initial discussions with The Growth Company were positive, and the organisation was keen to help deliver the challenging programme despite the tight timescales.
7) After significant engagement discussions and due diligence, officers can recommend The Growth Company as suitable for a direct award of this contract as they have the capacity, willingness and track record in this field.
Conclusion
A compliant procurement exercise for the delivery of a business support/start-up service in St Helens using £330,000 of UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding led to the receipt of no eligible bids. Therefore, after consideration of alternative options and with due regard to procurement guidelines, it is recommended to directly award the contract to The Growth Company.
Risk Implications
There are two main risks:
1) The Growth Company may pull out of the contracting process, leaving the Council with no eligible bidders to move an
award to.
2) The Growth Company may not be able to deliver the contract to sufficient quality, with full spend and achievement of
stated outputs and outcomes.
Measures to Redress Risk
For the risks set out above, the following mitigations will be put in place:
1) Pre-contract discussions have taken place with The Growth Company to ascertain willingness to undertake the contract.
2) The Growth Company have been willing to commence full preparations, including recruitment, at their own risk in order to mitigate the risk of under-delivery.
3) A suitable reporting structure will be put in place, including a full inception process. Weekly operational report meetings with Council programme managers and finance leads will identify underperformance and risk early enough to mitigate and address.
4) Compliance will be assured through standard Council procedures to ensure quarterly funding claims are backed with compliant evidence and suitable audit trails.
5) Payments are structured so that around 50% of the full allocation is tied to delivery of outputs and outcomes.
Declarations Of Interest
None
Equality Impact Assessment
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More information
Please contact Steven Berlyne on 01744 671750
