Purpose

Schedule of Rates Contract for Day to Day
Responsive Repairs, Installations and Planned Maintenance,
including Out of Hours Emergency Works – Air Conditioning and
Ventilation Systems Works, to buildings owned by Wirral Borough
Council or in which the Council has an interest

Decision

The Assistant Director
of Property and Investment has:
 
1.    endorsed the
procurement process carried out via Lot 3 (Air Conditioning
Installation, Servicing and Inspection, including Legionella
Testing) of the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation, Dynamic
Procurement System (DPS) 882 (Building Internal Fit-out and
Maintenance) as set out within paragraphs 3.2 to 3.4 of the
accompanying report; and
 
2.   approved the award of a contract for the Air
Conditioning and Ventilation Works Schedule of Rates Contract to
Clover Technical Services Ltd (Company Number 05458590) for a
period of 2 years with the option to extend for a further year on
two occasions to undertake planned preventive maintenance, reactive
repairs and emergency repairs in relation to the Council's land and
property with an estimated contract value of £528,000 over a
period of four years.
 

Reasons for the decision

Wirral Borough Council has a
large portfolio of assets with air conditioning/ventilation systems
that require regular repairs and maintenance, including planned,
reactive and emergency work. Ensuring that the Council has the
ability to appoint contractors to do this work is an essential step
to take.
 
Presently the Facilities Management team provide planned and
reactive maintenance services for the Council's land and property
either directly or on behalf of the Council's service areas. In
addition, the Council is implementing a Corporate Landlord Model,
whereby ultimately this team will be responsible for the
maintenance of Council owned land and buildings in the future,
excepting schools, which have differing management arrangements.
The Council's property portfolio is comprised of a mixture of
operational and non-operational assets, ranging from offices and
publicly accessed venues, commercial and retail properties and
assets held for regeneration and schools.
 
The
Council has a statutory duty to ensure that its assets comply with
relevant Health and Safety legislation and Regulations.
 
The
award of the new air conditioning and ventilation contract will
allow the Council's Facilities Management team to deliver building
services, emergency repairs, reactive repairs, and planned
preventative maintenance work on the Council's land and property
portfolio. This includes minor capital maintenance
works.
 

Alternative options considered

There
is not a do-nothing option. The Council needs to have a contract in
place as the Council has a statutory duty to ensure that its assets
comply with relevant Health and Safety legislation and
Regulations
 
The
Council could look to let individual pieces of work on a
case-by-case basis. This would present a significant challenge to
administer, significantly increase the cost of administration and
would not be satisfactory for certain works, for example emergency
call out. Not commissioning would generate significant challenges
to the Facilities Management team, impacting their operational
effectiveness, in provision of works and would have significant
implications for the operation of the Council's property portfolio,
which may lead to asset non availability or Health and Safety
implications.
 
The
Council could explore other options, for example outsourcing
models, however there is a requirement for a contract to be in
place now to enable delivery of works and any development of a
proposal for outsourcing would need to be properly developed, so
the best outcome for the Council could be achieved and the contract
mobilised.