Agenda item

Housing and Community Services – to consider the attached report (C-020-2020-21) to award a contract for removal of asbestos containing material from Council-owned properties.

(1)        The Cabinet agreed that, AA Woods Ltd be awarded a 1-year contract renewable annually for up to a maximum of 4-further years, for the removal of asbestos containing materials from Council-owned properties in the sum of £82,895.50 with an overall weighted price and quality score of 91.66% being the most economically advantageous tender received; and

(2)        The Cabinet agreed that should it not be possible to enter into contract with AA Woods Ltd, DC (UK) Ltd be awarded the contract as the reserve contractor, being the second most economically advantageous tender received, with a Tender Sum of £116,902.26; and

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

(4)        The Cabinet agreed, this contract be designated as a serial contract to facilitate the annual adjustment to the tendered rates in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) BCIS ALLCOS Resource Cost Index of All Construction: All Repair and Maintenance Work #7419.  

The Housing and Community Services Portfolio Holder, Councillor H Whitbread, introduced the report on the acceptance of Tenders for contract 101, removal of asbestos containing materials from Council owned properties.

In order to undertake the removal of asbestos containing material from Council-owned properties during the financial year 2020-21 and over the following 4-year period, it was necessary to undertake a procurement exercise based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) taking cost and quality into account to satisfy the requirements of the Council’s Procurement Rules. 

Decision:

(1)        The Cabinet agreed that, AA Woods Ltd be awarded a 1-year contract renewable annually for up to a maximum of 4-further years, for the removal of asbestos containing materials from Council-owned properties in the sum of £82,895.50 with an overall weighted price and quality score of 91.66% being the most economically advantageous tender received; and

(2)        The Cabinet agreed that should it not be possible to enter into contract with AA Woods Ltd; DC (UK) Ltd be awarded the contract as the reserve contractor, being the second most economically advantageous tender received, with a Tender Sum of £116,902.26; and

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

(4)        The Cabinet agreed that this contract be designated as a serial contract to facilitate the annual adjustment to the tendered rates in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) BCIS ALLCOS Resource Cost Index of All Construction: All Repair and Maintenance Work #7419.  

Reasons for Proposed Decision:

The existing framework agreement for the removal of asbestos containing material from Council-owned properties with the current contractor was nearing the end of its term. Therefore, it was necessary to undertake a procurement exercise with contractors who were suitably licenced with the Health and Safety Executive for this type of specialist work. 

The new framework agreement would be let with a high degree of flexibility incorporated in the contract conditions, this would enable Qualis Management to issue Works Orders based on Operational requirements as and when required. 

Appointing licenced contractors ensured the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive were followed in the removal and disposal of asbestos containing material that was identified during planned Capital works programmes. Also, licenced contractors were required to provide an emergency response in the event of asbestos containing material being discovered or disturbed while carrying out ad-hoc property maintenance and repair works.

Other Options for Action:

The main alternative options considered are:

(1)        To re-tender the contract on an annual basis. However, this would be time consuming and inefficient. Re-tendering would not guarantee more competitive tenders.

(2)        To re-tender the works based on price alone. However, this would not necessarily return a more competitive tender and would not identify or quantify a quality commitment from the lowest tenderer. 

(3)        To seek quotations on an individual basis for every void property on an ad-hoc basis.  However, this is very time consuming and is not a cost-effective exercise given the volume of ad-hoc void properties carried out per annum, this would breach the Council’s Procurement Rules C2 (9b) with the works exceeding £25,000 in value during one financial year.