Agenda item

That the following be agreed:

1)      To procure, award and enter into a contract / contract(s) to undertake retrofit, cyclical, planned, voids and reactive works to Winchester City Council owned housing properties within the parameters set out in this report and to delegate authority to the Strategic Director to conduct the procurement exercise and to finalise and agree the terms of the contract(s).

2)      To incorporate and design a dialogue phase(s) within the procurement procedure as permitted under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).

3)      To use the Competitive Dialogue Procedure under PCR 2015 to carry out the procurement.

4)      To ensure best value, adopt a 60:40 (quality:price) evaluation model with a quality bias (60%).

5)      To commission following the satisfactory completion of the procurement exercise a Term Alliance Contract to be awarded to a single provider for an initial term of up to 10 years with an option to extend for a further 5 years.

6)      To agree to evaluate tendered prices using the Optimum Price model rather than a lowest price model.

7)      To approve the use of the Term Alliance Contract TAC-1 (as amended) form of contract for the HRA repairs and maintenance contract.

Councillor Westwood introduced the report which contained proposals for the procurement of the new contract acknowledging the level of tenant satisfaction with the existing contract and stated that it was intended to expand the service offered.  It was proposed that the contract be offered on a 60:40 quality/price basis to recognise the importance of quality.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Horrill and Lee addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Horrill

She emphasised the importance of the contract and queried how it was possible for a decision to be made without the details of the repair programme being available.  She reiterated the request from Scrutiny Committee that a breakdown (by number and type) of repairs currently undertaken on the council’s housing stock be provided.

Councillor Lee

He had concerns that the 10% minimum for environmental social criteria was too low.  He welcomed the emphasis on quality in the contract procurement.  He reiterated requests made at previous meetings that nature based products be used wherever possible.

Councillor Westwood responded to the comments made including emphasising that the contract would deliver the requirements of the new Council Plan in terms of the commitment to tackle the nature and climate emergency.

Councillor Tod referred to the discussion of the report at Scrutiny Committee on 12 November and the draft minutes had been circulated to Cabinet and other members present prior to the Cabinet meeting.  The Strategic Director confirmed that the data requested on the breakdown of repairs would be made available to all councillors within the next week.  The Chief Executive emphasised that the report’s recommendations related to the process of procurement and consequently the data was not essential for a decision to be made by Cabinet.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

That the following be agreed:

1.           To procure, award and enter into a contract / contract(s) to undertake retrofit, cyclical, planned, voids and reactive works to Winchester City Council owned housing properties within the parameters set out in this report and to delegate authority to the Strategic Director to conduct the procurement exercise and to finalise and agree the terms of the contract(s).

2.           To incorporate and design a dialogue phase(s) within the procurement procedure as permitted under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).

3.           To use the Competitive Dialogue Procedure under PCR 2015 to carry out the procurement.

4.           To ensure best value, adopt a 60:40 (quality:price) evaluation model with a quality bias (60%).

5.           To commission following the satisfactory completion of the procurement exercise a Term Alliance Contract to be awarded to a single provider for an initial term of up to 10 years with an option to extend for a further 5 years.

6.           To agree to evaluate tendered prices using the Optimum Price model rather than a lowest price model.

7.           To approve the use of the Term Alliance Contract TAC-1 (as amended) form of contract for the HRA repairs and maintenance contract.