The Hackney Procurement Board met to discuss awarding a contract for maintaining heating and hot water systems, and to review minutes from previous meetings. Also on the agenda was a business case for electrical testing, and the board's timetable for the year. This was not a public meeting, but notifications of decisions were scheduled to be published on the council website.

CHE S471 Specialist Contractor to maintain heating and hot water plant and associated equipment

The Hackney Procurement Board were scheduled to discuss the award of a contract to a specialist contractor to maintain communal heating and hot water plant, and associated equipment, in 14 plant rooms.

The report pack included a recommendation to award the contract to Bidder E, using an amended form of the JCT Measured Term Contract¹, for an initial term of three years, with an option to extend for a further two years.

The report noted that this was needed to supplement the council’s directly employed operatives.

The estimated contract value was £1,518,946 excluding VAT, or £1,822,735 including VAT. With forecast indexation², the total could reach £1,661,942 excluding VAT, or £1,994,330 including VAT. Funding would come from the Revenue H3002 budget, which also supports in-house operatives. Rates are fixed until April 2026, after which annual adjustments will follow BCIS indexation, estimated at 4.5% per year.

The report stated that a projected £50,000 cost saving was expected in the first year, with spending monitored to ensure budget compliance and mitigate financial risks.

The report also detailed sustainability issues and social value benefits. The winning bidder had committed to prioritise the use of local SME organisations, advertise employment opportunities locally, and pay the London Living Wage³.

The report pack noted that the Hackney Labour Manifesto 2018 included a commitment to review all outsourced services with a view to bringing them in-house. The report stated that the tender documents made it clear that future volumes of works are not guaranteed.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The Hackney Procurement Board were scheduled to consider the minutes of the Extraordinary Hackney Procurement Board meeting held on 31 January 2025 and the Hackney Procurement Board meeting held on 11 February 2025.

Extraordinary Meeting of 31 January 2025

At the extraordinary meeting of 31 January 2025, the Hackney Procurement Board were scheduled to discuss transformation consultancy support for prevention and demand management. The report sought approval for the procurement of additional consultancy support to accelerate transformation work on prevention and demand management across demand-led service areas, and the development of high level business cases that identified significant financial savings and cost avoidance. The proposal related specifically to adult social care, children's social care, and education, and homelessness.

The intention was to go out to the market in two phases; phase one to develop demand and cost analysis, models for demand management and business cases across demand-led services, and phase two focused on implementation of the business cases identified in the first phase and would be awarded after the completion of phase one. Both phases were to be detailed in the specification, with phase two being subject to a separate direct award process. Both phases of work will be brought to the Council’s Cabinet Procurement & Insourcing Committee in April 2025.

External support was sought as the proposal was outside the council’s expertise as whole systems change was required and the skills and capacity were unavailable in-house. It was proposed to use the Bloom framework as it covered providers with expertise in this field.

Meeting of 11 February 2025

At the meeting of 11 February 2025, the Hackney Procurement Board were scheduled to discuss the Holiday Activities and Food Programme Framework Contract Award. The report noted the initiative was a cross-England, fully funded programme aimed at reducing holiday hunger which provided a meal and activities to children on free school meals. The funding for this initiative was confirmed.

Also on the agenda was a business case for a dockless cycle hire service in the borough for a maximum period of 5 years at zero cost to the council. It was a concession contract and the contract award was proposed to go to the Contract Procurement and Insourcing Committee for decision at a future date. The concession contract proposed an annual fixed operator contribution to the council, and a 30% weighting for the financial submission which sought bidders to present a proposed revenue share with the council.

The Hackney Procurement Board were also scheduled to discuss the procurement of an Open Framework for the Provision of Short Breaks and Homecare for Disabled Children, and a separate Open Framework for the provision of Overnight Care for Disabled Children.

CED S429 Electrical Testing Business Case

The Hackney Procurement Board were scheduled to discuss an electrical testing business case. No further details were available in the agenda.

Hackney Procurement Board Timetable for 2024-2025

The Hackney Procurement Board were scheduled to note the timetable for the remainder of the municipal year. The next meeting was scheduled for 13 May 2025.