Joint report of the Director of Personnel & Performance and Director of
Education and Leisure.
CIVIC CENTRE CATERING
This report summarises the various options for catering at the Civic Centre and
the related issues requiring further consideration and decision.
1. Community Enterprise/Social firm
This option is being considered as part of the wider considerations in Community
and Social Services. Richard Spensely Local Economic Development Officer has
made initial enquiries around these options and concluded the following:

There are no social firms currently operating in the City that are involved in
catering activities.

At the present time, the Princess Park Garden Centre operates a Café and
outside Buffet Service that also provides catering at private functions as well
as Council meetings/ events. Originally set up as a pilot project two years
ago, the facility is currently staffed with one full time able bodied member and
a further four ‘service users’ of the Community & Social Services Directorate.
Although discussions have taken place about developing this catering venture
and it possibly becoming a ‘social firm’, this is unlikely at present. Issues to be
resolved include current operational capacity, training, recruitment and
funding. Furthermore, having looked at the information (including the outline
specification) that is currently available and that has recently been prepared
on the proposed Civic Centre catering operation, Princess Park staff do not
consider it appropriate to tender for the contract in the short term. In the
medium to longer term however, this opportunity may be a possible
development for Princess Park Catering.

There are no existing (or developing) community businesses that have the
capacity or ability to deliver a new canteen service at the present time;

Whilst long term contract opportunities may possibly arise, community
businesses will equally require relatively long lead in periods in order to
develop their own capacity to bid for (as well as to deliver) a new catering
service. In this respect, issues such as business and financial planning would
need to be addressed first by such community businesses.

This in turn is largely dependent on the ability of Salford Community Venture
(SCV) to support the development and capacity building of community
businesses. At the present time, SCV has limited resources to do this
effectively although in the medium to long term this is expected to change due
to recent staff appointments within SCV.
Pros:
 This option could provide an opportunity to enhance/develop existing
arrangements within Community and Social Services.
Cons:
 Not a short-term option;
Issues to consider:
 Future opportunities are uncertain.
Recommendation:
This option to be noted
2. Staff Cooperative/Buy-Out
All staff at the Civic Centre have been seen and redeployment options have been
discussed. Of the nine staff involved:
 four are not directly affected
 two have resigned
 one is long term sick
 two have accepted a redeployment
Discussions have taken place with at least one member of staff regarding their
interest in running a staff co-operative. There does not appear to be any interest
in this option. That member of staff has been redeployed to the School and
Welfare Contract and is undergoing training.
Pros:
 Could provide work opportunity for any displaced staff – however all displaced
staff have now been offered alternative employment.
Cons:
 This would be a new and untested approach.
Issues to consider:
 It appears that the existing staff do not have either the capacity, expertise or
confidence to successfully operate the facility within a commercial
environment;
 The contractual position is the same as for outsourcing which would need to
be determined.
 The issue of “TUPE” will need to be considered.
Recommendation:
This option be noted
3. Franchise/Outsourcing option
An outline specification, draft advertisement and specimen menu have been
produced. A range of (tendering/contractual) issues have been identified which
will require detailed consideration (see below) and decisions before dialogue can
commence with any prospective provider.
In particular early decisions need to be made about the client role, the
replacement and repairs responsibilities and the costs and charging
arrangements within the contract. The level of interest in providing the same kind
of service is unknown at this stage but based upon recent experience it is
extremely unlikely that interest would be shown in a contract without a significant
subsidy in one form or another. The client side responsibilities will need to be
assigned, clearly defined and costed.
Pros:
 Could be a more reliable option if dealing with an established company; there
may be a number of local business who may be interested in providing a
service.
Cons:
 It is unlikely that interest would be shown from prospective providers to run
the same kind of service given the loss making experience of Citywide.
 Prospective providers may want to include other aspects of catering, currently
undertaken by Citywide i.e. commercial catering, and this may have
implications for Citywide business; interest may be shown in providing a
limited catering service.
 Additional resources will be required to monitor external provision
Issues to consider:

Alan Eastwood has confirmed, in writing, that there is no “potential conflict”
between the Directorate and an alternative provider.
A number of contractual considerations require attention depending upon the
approach adopted. The main points are as follows:






There will be resource implications associated with advertising, vetting and
evaluation.
The letting of any contract would be subject to a thorough contractor vetting
and evaluation process.
Detailed method statements would be requested.
The contractor should be responsible for all cleaning requirements.
Prospective contractors should not use the facilities for any other purpose
than servicing this contract.
The contract should specify staff qualifications.


Salford should reserve the right to use the premises out of hours.
A strict complaints procedure should be in place.
Education and Leisure would not wish to be associated with this option for the
following reasons:
 If implemented the client function would be performed by an actual or
prospective competitor.
 The costs associated with performing the client function should not fall on
Citywide.
 The management resources required to perform this function would be better
utilised elsewhere in the Citywide service.
Recommendation:
It is not considered that this option is appropriate at this time.
4. Art Gallery Model
Information has been provided that confirms the broad contractual arrangements
for the “coffee shop facility at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The provider
(Susan Barlow) occupies the space on a rent-free basis. The Directorate is
responsible for the maintenance and repair of all fixtures and fittings within the
coffee shop, plus insurance, heating, lighting and water services. The latter
(approximately £3k) is picked up by Education & Leisure. The service is limited to
soup, sandwiches and jacket potatoes. The equipment is minimal.
Pros:
 Providing external interest was shown, a limited service could be made
available at the Civic Centre, similar to that at the Art Gallery. Any interest
could be gauged following the advert mentioned above regarding franchising.
Cons:
 This option would only provide a limited menu choice;
 The future for the coffee shop is however uncertain, as it has been indicated
by the provider that they are reviewing their position in terms of the financial
viability of the operation;
 Reliability and continuity will be an issue;
 A subsidy level will probably be required to keep the venture viable.
Issues to consider:
 the same range of issues for “outsourcing” would need to be considered.
Recommendation
This option be noted as not appropriate.
5. Alternative In-House Provision (Citywide)
The extensive alternative choices available in the Swinton area around the Civic
Centre, the change in eating habits, which has taken place over recent years, the
impact these has on the financial viability plus the removal of the subsidy were
the main reasons for the closure of the original facilities at the Lancastrian Hall
and Dining Room in the Civic Centre.
It would not be viable to reintroduce any form of self financing catering
arrangement based upon the previous specification, menu and staffing
arrangements.
However, a simplified service could be considered and trialed by Citywide, based
upon two specifications as detailed in Appendix A and Appendix B.
This option would need to be very customer focussed and a good deal of inhouse marketing would be needed in order to promote the services.
This proposal is based on a trial period of six months with the staffing costs and
food costs being closely monitored throughout this period. Should Citywide not
be able to cover the on costs for this service, they would need to reserve the right
to give notice to terminate this service.
At the end of this trial period the possibility of offering training opportunities for
staff from the Salford Community Venture could also be explored.
It must be noted that this option is based only on providing a catering snack
service. The proposed staff at the Civic Centre will not provide corporate
hospitality, as this must still be ordered from Buile Hill Park Hall, the commercial
arm of Citywide Services.
The Commercial Catering arm at Buile Hill Park Hall will still provide corporate
hospitality buffets and special lunches.
The Civic Shop will continue to provide services to those staff and Members not
wishing to visit the Shopping Centre.
Staff and Members’ refreshments will also still be provided by Citywide Services
and funded by the Democratic Services Budget.
6. Other issues considered
Weddings etc
Alan Eastwood has confirmed that the area in question could be registered, as
an approved premise. This could result in Increased community use of council
premises. It should be noted that there are a number of cost related matters,
which would need to be considered including security and cleaning.
This option has previously been considered by Citywide Staff and Commercial
Catering contract managers but not pursued as a viable business option.
Currently Worsley Court House and Buile Hill are successful venues.
Trade Union Consultation
Preliminary discussions around the above have been held with the Staff Side
Joint Secretary. The TU’s (UNISON & GMB) have also been involved in the
redeployment exercise. Discussions are ongoing regarding the redeployment of
staff.
Issues to consider:
 As the remaining displaced staff are GMB members, the subject of staff cooperatives have been discussed with the GMB trade union who have raised
concerns about the concept and the feasibility of operating a catering facility
as described above.
 GMB also expressed their opposition to any form of contracting out of the
service previously provided by Citywide and expressed their concerns about
the implications for school and welfare and commercial catering contracts.
 GMB requested that consideration should be given to reintroducing a more
economic simplified service operated by Citywide, e.g. soup and sandwiches
as indicated in this option.
7. Next Steps


Report to Cabinet on the preferred option as soon as possible
Action plan for preferred option to be determined in the light of Cabinet
discussions
RECOMMENDATIONS
Members’ views on this option are requested.
APPENDIX A
City of Salford
Catering Specification
(Simplified Service)
BACKGROUND:
Civic Centre,
Chorley Road,
Swinton
The specification requires nutritious well-balanced snack
meals with the emphasis on healthy eating within the Civic
Centre complex dining room for staff and Members of the
Council either to consume within the Dining Room or to
take away.
CUSTOMER BASE: Citywide Services would hope to attract Members and staff
who wish to purchase a snack type lunch who would
normally have visited the Swinton Shopping Precinct.
OPENING TIMES:
9.00 a.m. until 2.30 p.m., Monday to Friday, 52 weeks of
the year (excluding Public Holidays and Christmas Shut
Down)
STAFFING:
One experienced Cook Supervisor and two General
Assistants will provide the following:
Morning Breakfast Service
(9.00 a.m. until 10.00 a.m.)
Serving morning goods (i.e. toast, bacon/sausage barms
etc.
Snack Menu Items
(12 noon until 1.30 p.m.)
Serving a selection of freshly prepared sandwiches/rolls
made to order from a selection of fillings.
Jacket potatoes (containing a variety of hot and cold
fillings)
Soup of the Day (selection of bread rolls) including butter
portions
Hot pies, pizzas, portions of chips etc.
Salad items consisting of fresh salads
It is also Citywide’s intention to provide a range of vending
services within the Dining Room complex for out of hours
use.
Projected Running costs for snack service provision within the Civic
complex
1. The current estimate on the running costs per week is as follows £ 325.79
this is for 2 members of staff, (including on costs) plus casual cover.
2. Before the closure the uptake figure was around 40 covers per day at an
average spend per person of £ 2.10
3. In order to break even this proposal would require an average uptake of
40 covers per day at an average spend of £1.75 this would cover the
labour costs but would leave a shortfall on food costs of £38.50 per day.
4. In order to cover all costs the average uptake figure would need to be set
at over 65 and average spend would need to be £2.05 per day, this could
not be guaranteed so the projected figures would always show a loss.
Income 40@1.75 x5 =£350.00
Less Expenditure
Food costs 55% = £192.50
Labour = £325.79
Disposables 5%= 17.50
Total £535.79
Loss of £185.79 per week x 52 weeks = £9,661.08
APPENDIX B
City of Salford
Catering Specification
Automated Vending
Service
SERVICE:
Civic Centre,
Chorley Road,
Swinton
The proposal is to establish a selection of machines
for 24 hour use within the Members’ Dining Room.
The selection would consist of:
(a)
freestanding hot drinks machine providing a
high cup capacity, quality and reliability
serving a wide selection of drinks.
(b)
freestanding snack machine providing a range
of popular snacks (i.e. crisps and chocolate bars)
(c)
COST
IMPLICATIONS:
freestanding sandwich machine dispensing
a selection of freshly prepared sandwiches
and baps.
Each of these machines are on lease for a period
of between three and five years with a weekly
rental of between £19.00 and £50.00 depending
on usage.
There are vending companies who will site
machines free of charge and provide a
professional replenishment and maintenance
service. However, a minimum lease period
is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
The above proposal allows for a 24 hour
refreshment and snack service where the
customer pays at the point of delivery including
maintenance. However, a range of payment
systems are available including free vend, coinoperation and cashless card operated system.