Community right to challenge

Trafford Council is continually looking for new ways to design and deliver service to offer value for money and improved results for citizens. We already work closely with community groups and social enterprises that can provide high-quality services at good value.

The Localism Act has introduced the right for more organisations and local groups of people to submit an Expression of Interest in running council services. When an EOI is accepted by the Council, we will then commence a procurement process to allow any interested bodies to bid for the contract to run the service.

Who can submit an Expression of Interest?

The Act defines ‘Relevant bodies’ as:

  • A Parish Council.
  • A Voluntary Body that carries out ‘not for profit’ activities.
  • A Community Body that carries out activities primarily for the benefit of the community.
  • A charity organisation or trust.
  • Two or more employees of the Council.
  • Any other person or body specified by the Secretary of State regulations.

When can an EOI be submitted and for which services?

The window for the submission of an EOI for 2013/14 is 21 February 2013 to 21 March 2013.

The right to challenge applies to the most of the services the Council provides with the following exceptions:

  • Services resulting from joint commissioning arrangements with NHS bodies (excluded until 2014).
  • A service provided to a named person with complex individual health or social care needs.
  • A service which includes the exercise of a statutory power which cannot be delegated, e.g. setting of Council Tax or determination of planning applications.

An expression of interest can be submitted for all, or part of, a service.

Submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI)

The window for submission for an EOI for 2013/14 is 21 February 2013 to 21 March 2013. Applications will not be accepted outside this period.

The EOI should be addressed to the Corporate Director of Transformation and submitted in writing with the accompanying application form on the right of this page.

Please forward your application form to the Procurement Team at Trafford Council.

Consideration and Notification of a Decision

We will consider all applications received in the window between 22 March and 30 August 2013 and you will then be notified in writing whether we have decided to accept or decline your EOI. Decisions will also be published online.

Procurement Exercise

If the Council accepts an expression of interest for a service, then we will carry out a procurement exercise to select the most appropriate service provider. The procedure is detailed in the Business Tenders and Contracts section.