Content

To approve the procurement of
contractors to carry out various works at Elizabeth House to comply
with recommendations from statutory regulatory inspections for
health and safety and building maintenance.
 

Reasons for the decision

The works are needed to comply
with health and safety legislation, and extensive due diligence has
been carried out to ensure that the correct scope of works is
carried out, maximising value for money and assisting with
reduction in carbon emissions.
 
Two main areas of work are
required.
1)  
Replacement of emergency lights and various
associated distribution boards and electrical works. Several of the
lights are unable to be repaired due to parts no longer being
available. As they are part of an integrated lighting system this
has meant complete exploration of design options and use of
specialist companies to determine the extent of work needed to
ensure compliance and at the same time maximising opportunities to
reduce CO2 by installing smart scan options.
Due
to this being a recommendation to ensure compliance with
regulations and concerns about staff and public safety in the
building as the nights get darker the work needs to be completed as
soon as possible.
2)  
Repairs and alterations to fire doors and fire
compartmentalisation to meet requirements of Fire Risk Assessments
relative to the current and proposed future use of Elizabeth House.
Comprehensive surveys have been undertaken by specialist companies
to determine the exact scope of the works needed, given the age of
the building, it’s use by staff and members of the public and
to ensure that relevant legislation is complied with.
 
To ensure compliance with the
regulatory reports undertaken for al of these areas, considerable
exploratory work has been undertaken to determine the full extent
of works needed and to agree appropriate solutions. As the areas
are relevant to the occupation of Elizabeth House in a safe and
compliant manner not proceeding with the works is not an option if
the building is to remain open and works need to be carried out as
soon as possible before the onset of winter.

Alternative options considered

 
·        
To give the Head of Environmental and Neighbourhood
Services approval to proceed with the procurement as
detailed
·        
That the Head of Environmental and Neighbourhood
services provides a progress report to Cabinet within the next 4-6
weeks.