Salford residents will foot a £1.5m bill to bring a social service provider under control of the council – even though the service was graded ‘good’ by a government watchdog. 

The council, which recently received an ‘inadequate’ from CQC for the management of its adult social care, has ordered the ‘in-sourcing’ of Aspire Intelligent Care & Support. The organisation provides specialist care for adults with disabilities, dementia, and eating disorders. 

A senior manager at Aspire claims there seemed to be ‘no clear reason’ why the service was being placed under council management ‘at great expense to the tax payer’. 

The local authority recently received a damning report on their adult social care, with CQC inspectors reporting residents were left waiting ‘several years’ in some cases to receive vital care. Mayor Paul Dennett apologised for the outcome, pledging to ‘change how the service is delivered’. 

He added the results were due to a ‘complex set of arrangements’ with external providers including the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which has consistently been blasted as ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ by the CQC in recent years. Aspire, also one of the external providers, was not a part of the recent CQC inspection.  

Andrea Campbell, chair of the board for Aspire, said: “Aspire’s services used to be part of the council and were split off in 2015. There were political changes after that, and there was clearly some resentment of them having been given separate governance. So there’s always been a bit of tension. 

“We weren’t really consulted about the in-sourcing. We heard rumours Aspire was going to be insourced, but only had official notification from senior members around 18 months into the process.

“We asked what the purpose was, and what the benefit would be to the people who use it, and no one seemed to have an answer to that question. It seemed like it was in the Mayor’s Manifesto and that’s why it was being done. It seems like it’s being done for political reasons, rather than for the benefit of the people who use it.”  

The change is estimated to cost the council between £1m and £1.5m due to the renegotiation of contracts with existing staff members. 

Campbell also described being asked to sign a ‘gagging order’ – a non-disclosure agreement – about the change. Salford Council was asked about this, but did not respond.  

Six directors left the company in April, according to Companies House, with multiple senior management staff stating they departed due to the way the insourcing process was handled by the council. 

CQC inspections have praised the ‘positive, person-centred culture’ and ‘overwhelmingly positive feedback from service users’ at the majority of Aspire’s services. 

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that the decision to bring Aspire in-house was made prior to the local authority’s inspection by the watchdog. It was part of a plan first launched just over a year ago to bring all of the previously outsourced adult care services, some of which have been ‘struggling for several years’, under the control of the local authority. 

The plans include bringing 2,000 staff members into the council, and investing an extra £4.5 million over the next 2 years to support an improvement plan and fund the recruitment of more adult social care staff. 

A Salford City Council spokesperson said: “It is disappointing to hear these concerns, particularly as they do not reflect the very close work that has been taking place for more than 12 months in partnership with staff to make sure that they have been supported through every step of this process.

“This has included comprehensive consultation, regular trade union briefings and established TUPE processes. It has been a significant undertaking to ensure that services for 800 people with a range of needs, some of them very complex, continue to be seamlessly delivered.

“The knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm of staff has been and remains of critical importance. Staff views and opinions have been an important part of this work and continue to be heard as the service has moved back to the council.

“The commitment to return adult social care services back to the council was made significantly in advance of the recent Care Quality Commission inspection report, in recognition that change is needed in the sector to accelerate the improvement of services. Aspire has been a good provider of services and this has always been recognised, with its work to support residents being greatly appreciated by families.

“Bringing back services means that good practice does not take place in isolation and can be shared across adult social care so that the quality of service can improve for all. It means we can provide not only consistency in the terms and conditions for staff in a marketplace that suffers from instability, but also improvements to those employment terms and conditions.

“It also means that decisions are made closer to local needs and local communities.”