Issue - meetings

To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to re-tender the Council’s reactive maintenance framework for schools and non-schools properties.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves the re-tendering of the Reactive Maintenance Framework for Schools and Non-Schools Properties to ensure the Council received best value from its maintenance contractors.

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to re-tender the Council’s reactive maintenance framework for schools and non-schools properties.  The previous framework had been tendered on a four year timescale and had reached the end of that term and needed to be re-tendered.

The Council’s Property Maintenance Team provided a day to day reactive property repair service to both schools and non-schools.  Contractors were chosen following a tendering exercise based on cost and quality and their area of expertise.  Works were allocated to contractors by the property maintenance helpdesk who acted as the primary point of contact between building users and contractors.  The current framework was due for re-tendering and was expected to be awarded on a two year contract with the option to extend on a 1 plus 1 basis, totalling a potential four year contract.  The annual spend on repairs and maintenance was circa £2m per annum totalling £8m over the life of the framework.  Works were broken down into six lots with the intention to allocate contractors to each lot in the framework with a suite of key performance indicators to ensure quality of work and value for money.

In response to questions the Lead Member and officers advised that –

·        works up to £10k would be subject to a direct award to one of the contractors in the relevant lot who had already been through the screening process and had demonstrated quality and value for money through the monitoring process.  Given the high volume of low value works a direct award provided an efficient means of ensuring those works were carried out in a timely manner, similarly with any urgent works required.  However for those higher value works closer to £10k it was usual practice to undertake a mini competition within the framework

·        Councillor Emrys Wynne raised concerns regarding the wording in the tender document (paragraph 2.1, and subsequent paragraph 8.1.1) as he considered it related to inequality between the Welsh and English languages and he asked that the reference be removed.  The Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services explained that the reference had been included to safeguard the council against any inaccuracies by the external translators but understood the point made.  He agreed to seek a review of the wording and take advice from the solicitors thereon.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves the re-tendering of the Reactive Maintenance Framework for Schools and Non-Schools Properties to ensure the Council received best value from its maintenance contractors.