Purpose

Seeking approval of the procurement
of communal works and repairs & maintenance
provision.

Content

RESOLVED:
 
1. To approve the
procurement of communal works and repairs & maintenance
provision as follows:
a) 
Two Contractors for Lot 1, Playground - Repairs, Hard
Landscaping, Boundary Fencing (Metal Works), Drainage and Water
Mains of a combined value of approximately £2.17m per year
(Excl VAT),   and a
combined value of approximately £17.35m (Excl VAT) over the maximum contract term.
b) 
One Contractor for Lot 2, Playgrounds Inspection of a
value of approximately £61k per year and, a value of
approximately £0.47m (Excl VAT)
over the maximum contract term.
 
Reasons For Decision  
 
Options Appraisal 
The recommendation is to undertake a
competitive flexible procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 to
procure specialist contractors for Communal works under Lot 1 and
Lot 2. A long term contract arrangement to undertake the Communal
works brought about by expiration of the previous contract. There
has been a rise in demand for communal repairs & maintenance
works, the procurement of this contract will support the in-house
service to deliver this provision and provide continuity for
delivery of works in the service area.
 
This procurement aims to continue the delivery
of works by specialist contractors, with support provided to the
DLO in completing the tasks. These works are completed by both the
in-house repairs team and external contractors. The DLO undertakes
some of the less specialised works. This mixed economy of repairs
resource has worked well achieving good value, maintaining a
competitive tension, a flexible resource to meet varying workloads
and occasional need for more specialist expertise not included in
the in-house capacity.
 
The quality of repair services is crucial to
the operations of council services and our resident’s lived
experience and the improvement of the key performance indicators.
Therefore, the council's commercial team wishes to continue working
with a specialist contractor to support the works and the DLO.
 
Due to significant financial constraints and a
lack of infrastructure for future expansion, there are no plans to
further increase the DLO's scope or operational numbers. Although a
previous expansion aimed to handle legal disrepair and voids, the
DLO also had to address mould, damp, fire and safety regulations,
and increased reactive repairs to support capital work. Also, the
LBH needs time to stabilise and regain financial health before any
in-house hiring commitments are made. Restructuring contractors is
a more flexible option at this time and will be benchmarked against
Building Maintenance existing contractors to ensure best value for
money.
 
Alternative Options
Considered and Rejected 
 
Option 2 –
Continuity
 
The current arrangement was the use of a
single main contractor who subcontracts the works. The use of the
principal contractor may result in increased costs due to profits
and overheads, repassing of costs and added communication layers.
This option is not viable for the re-procurement as this will not
enable small and medium sized enterprises to bid for the contract
due to financial compliance with the contract value. The breaking
up of the contract to lot sizes will also mitigate risk to the
Council by allowing more than 1 contractor to support the service
delivery of this contract. Lastly, the splitting of the contract
into lots will expand the pool of potential bidders, which may
provide more competitive pricing and innovative
proposals. 
 
Option 3 - Framework
Route
 
This option was considered but rejected as all
works carried out under the contract will be communal works, which
are subject to statutory consultation requirements under Section 20
of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. When communal works are
undertaken, leaseholders must be formally consulted through the
Section 20 consultation process, which involves specific notice
periods and procedural requirements that would significantly impact
project timescales.
 
Furthermore, the Procurement team has advised
that where Section 20 leaseholder consultation procedures
apply, the established framework route
cannot be utilised as the procurement method for accessing the
market. Resulting in potential revenue loss for the Council. This
is due to the specific legal requirements governing leaseholder
consultations, which mandate alternative procurement processes that
ensure transparency and compliance with statutory obligations.