Agenda item

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-041-2015/16).

(Housing Portfolio Holder) The following Background Papers are attached:

            1.         Tender Assessment Matrices.

(1)        That Gracelands CMS Ltd be awarded the contract for the programmed servicing of Council owned gas appliances and the provision of breakdown and emergency repairs service to Council owned gas appliances to properties in both the north and south of the District, based on a five-year contract with the option to extend by a further five years, as the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) based on an assessment of price and quality with a score of 74.98% for Lot 1 North and a score of 76.20% for Lot 2 South;

(2)        That the benefit to the Council from a saving of around 4.9% be noted from the projected annual expenditure for gas servicing and breakdowns, based on a comparison between the expenditure incurred during the financial year 2014/15 and the tendered rates submitted by Gracelands CMS Ltd for both Lot 1 North and Lot 2 South;

(3)        That the overall value of the works be limited to the sum included in the Capital Programme on an annual basis; and

(4)        That this contract be designated as a serial contract under Contract Standing Order C11 to facilitate the annual increase in the schedule of rate items in accordance with The Department of Business, Innovation & Skills Building Cost Indices.

The Housing Portfolio Holder presented a report on the acceptance of tenders for the Annual Gas Servicing and Maintenance Contract.

The Portfolio Holder stated that tenders were sought for the programmed servicing and provision of breakdown and emergency repairs service to Council owned gas appliances. The  tenders were devised in such a way that the Council could appoint either a single Contractor to operate across the whole of the District or two contractors, one for each of the North and South of the District. The EU compliant tender exercise was undertaken on the Council’s behalf by Procurement Consultants, Cameron Consulting, and was based on an assessment of both quality and price with a 60% weighting on quality and a 40% weighting on price (Most Economically Advantageous Tender or MEAT). The most economically advantageous tender received was submitted by Gracelands CMS Limited for both the North and South areas.

The Cabinet had a slight concern that the quotes from Gracelands CMS Limited seemed to be so much cheaper than the other quotes. However, the Assistant Director of Housing (Housing Property) reassured the Cabinet that Gracelands CMS Limited already had one of the contracts that had been tendered, and when the quoted rates was compared with the current contract, it became evident that Gracelands had worked to these rates over a period of ten years, and the quality of their work was also very good.

Decision:

(1)        That Gracelands CMS Ltd be awarded the contract for the programmed servicing of Council owned gas appliances and the provision of breakdown and emergency repairs service to Council owned gas appliances to properties in both the north and south of the District, based on a five-year contract with the option to extend by a further five years, as the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) based on an assessment of price and quality with a score of 74.98% for Lot 1 North and a score of 76.20% for Lot 2 South;

(2)        That the benefit to the Council from a saving of around 4.9% be noted from the projected annual expenditure for gas servicing and breakdowns, based on a comparison between the expenditure incurred during the financial year 2014/15 and the tendered rates submitted by Gracelands CMS Ltd for both Lot 1 North and Lot 2 South;

(3)        That the overall value of the works be limited to the sum included in the Capital Programme on an annual basis; and

(4)        That this contract be designated as a serial contract under Contract Standing Order C11 to facilitate the annual increase in the schedule of rate items in accordance with The Department of Business, Innovation & Skills Building Cost Indices.

Reasons for Decision:

The existing contracts for the programmed servicing and the provision of breakdown and emergency repairs service to Council owned gas appliances expired in July 2015; therefore, it was necessary to re-tender the contract to satisfy the Council’s legal requirement to maintain an annual Landlord’s Gas Safety Record for all Council owned gas appliances.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not appoint Gracelands CMS Ltd as the most economically advantageous tender for one or both of the contracts and appoint any of the other tenderers. However, this would create an opportunity for a legal challenge from any of the other Contractors, as the Notice in the OJEU and the instructions set out in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) clearly stated the Council’s intention to assess and appoint based on the most economically advantageous tender.

To not appoint any of the contractors. However, it would mean the Council would not be able to meet its legal obligation of completing Annual Landlord Gas Safety Records (LGSR) for all of its gas appliances.