Purpose

The purpose of the decision /
report for consideration is to advise the members of CCB/Cabinet of
the detail around the `recommendation to extend the Council’s
existing Lift Maintenance and refurbishment PMI contract with
Guideline Lift Services Ltd for a second term of three years up to
31st March 2028.
 
The proposed extension will
enable service planning and delivery while the service develops and
deliver a revised operating model. 
 
The extension will:
 
-          
Ensure that buildings remain operational and safe meeting the
requirements of the Building Safety Act (2022) and the Decent Homes
Standard,
 
-          
Avoid the need for a protracted tendering exercise which may
prolong and delay critical building projects unnecessarily
and
 
-          
Mitigate any construction market price uncertainty as a result of the current cost of living
pressure
 

Content

 
For the reasons as detailed in
the report the Corporate Director for Housing AGREED
to: 
 

approve the contract
extension for the delivery of Lift Refurbishment and Servicing
Planned Maintenance and Improvement Works with Guideline
Lift Services Ltd at an annual value of
£1m, up to 31st March 2028 and a total value
for the extension period of £3m.  

 

Note
that the value of the extension
is calculated from 1st April 2025
– 31st April 2028  

 

Reasons for the decision

The Council, as a
social landlord, has statutory obligations, and requires
the use of the Lift Refurbishment and Servicing term
contract, to continue to deliver essential lift
refurbishment, servicing and call-out works across the
Council’s housing stock. These comprise works
to:           
 

ensure property and
asset electrical safety and fitness for
purpose,                                                       

maintain health and
safety,                                                                                      

maximise viable life expectancy,
and                                                                   

ensure statutory
compliance.                                                                           

 
The recommendation for
extension is in line with terms of the
original contract award which
included extension clauses, as detailed in the award
report approved on 19th September 2016, for delivery of the
Council’s planned maintenance and improvement works by way of
a lead provider contract for an
initial term of five years, and then for
further extension periods, up to a maximum
of 14 years  (5+3+3+1+1+1) at a maximum value of
£10.9m. 
 
The proposed extension will
enable service planning and delivery while the
service develops and deliver a revised operating
model.   
The extension
will: 
 

 Ensure that
buildings remain operational and safe meeting the
requirements of the Building Safety Act (2022) and the Decent Homes
Standard,  

Avoid the need for a
protracted tendering exercise which may prolong and delay critical
building projects unnecessarily and 

Mitigate any
construction market price uncertainty as a result of the
current cost of living pressure 

 

Alternative options considered

The following options were
considered with regard to the contract
extension:  
 
Do nothing.  
 
Should the Council not enable
provision of housing maintenance and repair arrangements,
it would be in breach of the Housing Act 2004.
Significant risk would be borne by the Council due to
lack of strategic supply arrangements available to support the
Council’s legal obligations to tenants and
leaseholders within the
borough. This option has not been
recommended. 
 
Bring the service in-house. 
 
The Council does not have
the requisite specialist services to deliver lift refurbishment and
servicing in-house. In addition, the cost of setup
and maintaining an in-house provision would
take too long to arrange and have in
place within the Council compared to an
established outsourced provider who specialise in
this service. This option has not been
recommended. 
 
Procure a new contract to provide this
service.   
 
A new procurement is
inevitable, as the contract is limited in
duration though spend over the next 3 years would
have a balance of £0.323m, which will be insufficient to
support a further extension, therefore a sustainable
contracting approach must be developed. It is not
recommended that a new contract is procured immediately,
because there is not enough or sufficient clarity on the
integrated long-term strategy for shaping the programme planning
assumptions, contract strategy, procurement approach and
delivery approach of the major works
function. This option has not
been recommended. 
 
Extension to the existing contract:  
 
Extension option will offer the
council opportunity to engage the market,
incorporate identified current gaps into a new
specification that meets the changing demand of housing maintenance
contracts. 
There is ongoing consideration
for a future delivery model for the Housing and
Improvement Services, that supports investment
planning and a signed off Asset strategy, an
extension will support continuity of delivery while adequate plan
is developed for the future state of delivery. However, in the
event the future model comes to be within this extension period,
there is opportunity to invoke the 12 months’
notice no-fault termination exit clause, which can
be taken up once future delivery model starts to take
shape.  
 
This option is
recommended.