Councillor Sarah Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning (Deputy Leader), was scheduled to discuss the variation of contracts for fire safety works. The report pack also notes that there was an intention to exclude the press and public from item 8 on the agenda, as it was expected to contain exempt information.

Here's a breakdown of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed:

Variation of Contracts for the Delivery of Fire Safety Works

Councillor Sarah Williams was asked to consider a recommendation to vary existing contracts with three suppliers to allow for the continuation of fire safety works. The council is legally required to undertake fire safety work in residential buildings to comply with regulations like the Fire Safety Order (as amended) 2005¹, the Building Safety Act 2022², the Fire Safety Act 2021³, the Housing Acts 1994, 2004⁴ and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974⁵.

The report pack stated that the council needs to maintain progress on actions arising from fire risk assessments to ensure resident safety and to meet commitments to the Regulator for Social Housing. According to the report pack, failure to do so could result in a build-up of overdue actions.

The report pack stated that the recommendation was to vary each of the three existing contracts by 167%, increasing their value from £499,999 to £833,333. The report pack stated that this was due to delays in procuring a longer-term contract.

The report pack stated that several alternative options were considered and rejected, including:

• Do nothing: This was rejected because it would lead to an accumulation of unallocated actions from fire risk assessments.
• Utilise the DLO (Direct Labour Organisation) to deliver works: This was rejected because the DLO is already under pressure to deliver the Responsive Repairs Service and lacks the resources and competencies to meet the required standards.
• Procure new contracts without first varying existing contracts: This option was being progressed, but the variation would allow sufficient time to complete the procurement.
• Utilise an external framework to make a direct award to a separate contractor: Strategic Procurement rejected this option due to the need to maintain internal control over the procurement process.

The report pack stated that the contracts were put in place in 2024 as part of a wider award to five contractors aimed at reducing overdue actions from fire risk assessments. The one-year contract period commenced in March 2025 and is in place until March 2026.

The report pack stated that Strategic Procurement and the legal team were consulted on the decision to vary existing contracts, and finance confirmed that existing revenue and capital provision has been made for fire risk assessments.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The agenda included an item to consider a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting during a discussion of item 8, titled Exempt Variation of Contracts for the Delivery of Fire Safety Works . The reason cited was that the item was expected to contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972⁶, specifically paragraphs 3 and 5, relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons and information subject to legal professional privilege.