The Officer Executive Decisions meeting scheduled for Monday 20 April 2026 was set to discuss the appointment of specialist consultants for external fire safety remedial works. This decision is a key step in ensuring compliance with new building safety legislation.

External Fire Safety Remedial Works Specialist Consultants

The meeting was scheduled to consider the award of contracts for fire engineering and intrusive surveying works, which are crucial for delivering required external fire safety remediations under the Building Safety Act 2022. These works will define the scale of building works needed and ensure certificated compliance for high- and mid-rise buildings across Hackney. The report pack indicated a recommendation to approve the award of two contracts: one for services to Frankham Risk Management Services Limited via the Pretium Hyde Building & Fire Safety Framework for four years at a total contract value of £7.8 million, and another for services to Airey Miller Limited via the same framework for four years at a total contract value of £7.8 million.

The report highlighted that these awards are pivotal for Hackney to achieve full compliance with current legislation. The scope of the contracts covers the external envelope of the estate, including external walls, voids, and fenestration. The wider Building Safety Programme, which addresses internal elements, is part of a separate business case.

The decision to appoint two consultants was driven by the substantial volume of work and the need to distribute risk and mitigate fragmentation. Each consultant would be responsible for half of Hackney's in-scope estate, with services being drawn down over time. The contracts are fully funded by Homes England, an agency of the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with no recourse to Hackney Council budgets.

The report detailed that the procurement route had been slightly revised due to changes at Homes England, which is both the grant-giving authority and the statutory regulator. The revised approach ensures the use of consultants pre-approved by the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS), a mandatory requirement for accessing government grant funding. This also addresses the challenge of securing consultants willing to contract for opening works and ensures a single contract and insurance-backed warranty, as advised by Hackney's insurers and legal department.

The report also outlined the reasons for rejecting alternative options, including in-house provision due to a lack of specialist expertise, undertaking an open tendering exercise due to time constraints and potential legal issues with the Procurement Act 2023, and the unviable option of doing nothing, which would lead to non-compliance with housing legislation and potential intervention from Homes England and the Housing Regulator.

The legislative context for these works was explained, referencing the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which mandate thorough external wall fire risk assessments for Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs).¹ The report also noted alignment with Hackney's Sustainable Community Strategy 2018-2028, Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2018-2022, and Housing Asset Management Strategy 2019-2027.

Considerations for equality, sustainability, and modern slavery were included, with commitments from the consultants to adopt green policies, provide social value contributions such as apprenticeships, and maximise opportunities for local residents and suppliers. Consultation with leaseholders, tenants, resident groups, and elected members was also detailed, with assurances that the primary remediation works would be fully funded by the CSS, meaning no financial impact on leaseholders for these specific works.

The report identified potential risks, including legal challenges due to direct awards, the possibility of the task size increasing post-investigation, and resident access issues, with proposed mitigating actions for each. The financial implications were deemed robust, with funding secured from government grants and value for money achieved through Homes England's discounted rates.