Agenda item - Acceptance of Tender - Contract 590 External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme 2020-25

(Housing & Property Services) To consider the attached report (C-001-2020-21).

(1) That, Gracelands Complete Maintenance Ltd be awarded the 1-year contract renewable annually for up to a maximum of 4-further years, for the external maintenance repairs and redecorating to Council-owned properties with an overall weighted price and quality score of 83.7%; and

(2) That, Wilton Decorators Ltd be selected as the Council’s Reserve Tenderer and that, should it not be possible to enter into contract with Gracelands Complete Maintenance Ltd for some reason, Wilton Decorators Ltd be awarded the 1-year contract renewable annually for up to a maximum of 4-further years, for the renewal of the external maintenance repairs and redecorating to Council-owned properties, being the second most economically advantageous tender received, with an overall weighted price and quality score of 79.8%; and

(3) That, the overall value of the works be capped to the sums included in the Housing Revenue Account 2020-21 for the External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme on an annual basis; and

(4) That, this contract be designated as a serial contract to facilitate the annual adjustment to the tendered rates in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) BCIS ALLCOS Resource Cost Index of All Construction: All Repair and Maintenance Work #7419.

The Housing and Community Portfolio Holder noted that in order to undertake the Planned External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme to Council-owned properties during the financial year 2020-21 and over the following 4-year period, it would be necessary to undertake a procurement exercise based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) taking cost and quality into account to satisfy the Council’s Procurement Rules.

The existing contract for the Planned External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme 2020-25 for works to Council owned properties was due to expire and therefore in order to complete the programme it was necessary to re-tender the works.

It was noted that the contract was initially for a period of one year but was renewable annually up to a maximum of five years.

Councillor Hadley asked at what stage were the contract negotiations with the new supplier. He was told they were in place to continue the contract from the end of June.

Councillor Hadley asked about the reserve tenderer who would take over the contract if needed, he wanted to know if there was a formal agreement in place for this. He was told that there was no formal agreement in place as this was not critical work to be done within a certain timescale.

Decision:

(1) That, Gracelands Complete Maintenance Ltd be awarded the 1-year contract renewable annually for up to a maximum of 4-further years, for the external maintenance repairs and redecorating to Council-owned properties with an overall weighted price and quality score of 83.7%; and

(2) That, Wilton Decorators Ltd be selected as the Council’s Reserve Tenderer and that, should it not be possible to enter into contract with Gracelands Complete Maintenance Ltd for some reason, Wilton Decorators Ltd be awarded the 1-year contract renewable annually for up to a maximum of 4-further years, for the renewal of the external maintenance repairs and redecorating to Council-owned properties, being the second most economically advantageous tender received, with an overall weighted price and quality score of 79.8%; and

(3) That, the overall value of the works be capped to the sums included in the Housing Revenue Account 2020-21 for the External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme on an annual basis; and

(4) That, this contract be designated as a serial contract to facilitate the annual adjustment to the tendered rates in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) BCIS ALLCOS Resource Cost Index of All Construction: All Repair and Maintenance Work #7419.

Reasons for Proposed Decision:

The current contract for the Planned External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme expires in June 2020 and therefore requires to be re-tendered in accordance with the Council’s Procurement Rules.

The Council undertake a rolling programme of external maintenance repairs and redecoration on all Council owned properties in order to maintain the condition and the fabric of the buildings. A 5-year contract was required for the Planned External Maintenance Repairs and Redecoration Programme 2020-25, to prevent Council-owned properties falling into disrepair and subsequently fail the Decent Homes Standard.

The undertaking of a procurement exercise for works of this value was not only a requirement of the Council’s Procurement Rules but was also a requirement of Section 20 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 when external maintenance repairs and redecorating works were undertaken on Council owned and managed blocks of flats.

Other Options for Action:

The main alternative options considered are:

(1) To re-tender the contract on an annual basis. However, this would be time consuming and inefficient. Re-tendering would not guarantee more competitive tenders due to the benefits of economies of scale and programme certainty that long-term contracts provide.

(2) To re-tender the works based on price alone. However, this would not necessarily return a more competitive tender and would not identify or quantify a quality commitment from the lowest tenderer.

(3) To seek quotations on an individual basis for every planned maintenance repairs and redecorating project and issue property specific HRP Works Orders. However, this is very time consuming and was not cost effective and given the volume of planned external maintenance repairs and redecorating projects carried out per annum, this would breach the Council’s Procurement Rules C2 (9) with the works exceeding £25,000 in value during one financial year.