This Officer Key Decision meeting for Newham Council concerned the award of a contract for corporate security services. The decision to award the contract had been delegated to the relevant officer. Details of the decision were available to view in the attached document.

Corporate Security Services Contract

Paul Kitson, Corporate Director Inclusive Economy Housing and Culture, in consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member for Finance and Resources, was asked to approve the award of twelve corporate security contracts under four lots for a 48-month period.

The council was looking to award a framework contract for security services in four lots at a maximum value of £11 million for a term of four years commencing in November 2025. The original plan was for a five-year contract, but this was reduced to four years.

The council has a variety of security requirements across a range of services and currently engages multiple suppliers at varying rates to provide these services. These are commissioned through spot purchases based on demand at any point in time. The council spends on average £4.5 million per annum on security provision, which is funded from the council's revenue budget.

The council has based its security provision on ad-hoc requirements, without formal contracts or rates agreed. The council has paid higher rates for security services in a number of areas, which has not been cost effective. The current method of spot purchasing does not provide assurance the council is receiving best value for money or is acting in compliance with fair pay and London Living Wage (LLW) policies for each of the security officers that are delivering the services.

Following a cabinet decision authorising the procurement and delegating the award of contracts for corporate security on 4 February 2025, an open tender process was undertaken for this procurement resulting in 22 bid submissions over four lots. Appendix B of the Public Reports Pack details the services procured under the four lots. Following evaluation and moderation of the bids it was determined to award the contracts as set out in Appendix A of the Public Reports Pack.

The contracts to be awarded under lots 1 and 3 are for ongoing activity that will remain in place to cover CCTV monitoring and mobile patrols. The contracts to be awarded under lots 2 and 4 are based on ad-hoc requirements, which the council can use to pick up provision as it requires. As the services for lots 2 and 4 are ad-hoc, a contingency has been added in case the council's demand for these services increases over the term of the contracts.

The suppliers' hourly rates during the term of the contracts are fixed which will deliver needed revenue savings to the council of circa £1.8 million over the contract term or circa £450,000 per annum.

The contracts have been procured to allow the council as much flexibility as it requires over the term for each service. As part of the tender, suppliers have been made aware that there is no guarantee that the council will commission a minimum level of service or any service at all.

The revised security arrangements will support the council's 'Towards a Better Newham' objectives, in particular Pillars 2 and 4 where they relate to the safety of residents. All successful bidders pay London Living Wage (LLW), supporting the Pillar 3 Action Plan to increase the number of Newham workers earning LLW. Providers will be encouraged to recruit from within the borough where possible as a means of supporting local employment. All successful bidders have confirmed that all security personnel are Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensed, and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checked. All successful bidders have demonstrated within their tender submission, their proposals for supporting the council's objective to become London's greenest economy (Pillar 6) and measures to address climate change.

The report stated that the Lead Cabinet member for Resources was consulted in November 2025.

The council requires appropriate security provisions for its employees to carry out its functions. The council is making a decision to award twelve contracts for that purpose. The council has the power to award these contracts through section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972, which allows the council to do anything which is calculated to facilitate or is conducive or incidental to the discharge of any of its functions, or through its general power of competence under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011. The total value of the contracts is above the applicable services contracts threshold stipulated in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) (PCR) of £214,904. Therefore, the contracts are subject to the full PCR regime. The decision to award the contracts has been made following an open procedure procurement in accordance with the requirements of the PCR and the council's Contract Standing Orders.