Procurement description
Overview of Procurement Objectives
Portsmouth City Council (the Council) is seeking to appoint a contractor to deliver Fire Compliance Services across its housing stock, with an estimated annual value of between £500K and £1M. The contract will be let for an initial 5-year term, with the option to extend by up to a further 5 years in intervals to be agreed.
The scope of services will include statutory fire risk assessments, installation and maintenance of fire detection and prevention systems, inspection and servicing of fire doors and alarms, and ensuring ongoing compliance with all relevant fire safety legislation and guidance.
Based on anticipated inflationary uplifts, regulatory requirements, and potential growth in housing stock, the total individual contract spends over the potential 10-year term (5-year base with options to extend) is expected to range between £6M to £11M. The impacts of Local Government Review have not been considered in this current value and the likely increases in the total value of the opportunity, brought about through the reform, will be addressed when the formal tender notice is issued.
Housing Stock Information
The Council has a housing stock of approximately 17,500 properties of which approximately 15,500 are socially rented and then there are approximately 2000 leasehold properties. Within the stock there is a mix of housing types including houses and bungalows; however the majority of the dwellings are within purpose-built blocks of flats constructed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Traditionally the estate has been spread across the two geographical areas of Portsea Island (on-island, PO1 to PO5) and Paulsgrove and Havant (off-island, PO6 to PO9).
A recent acquisition of approximately 800 properties has however subsequently increased the 'off-island' area to sites in Gosport, Fareham and Winchester.
Changing Context and Objectives
Over the next 5-10 years the Council is expecting to experience a number of challenges with regards to the maintenance of its housing and general fund properties with any incumbent provider to work in partnership with the Council to ease pressures where they can.
Significant changes in legislation such as the Building Safety Act and Fire Safety Act will require greater scrutiny from suppliers to ensure they are working in a compliant way and may require them to adopt new skills such as undertaking works as a result of Building Safety Cases for buildings of 6+ storeys.
There will be more focus on the accuracy and timely manner of up-load of compliance information and ensuring repairs, particularly around damp and mould are well managed and resolved and will be monitored by the Social Housing Regulator.
Local Government Review
As part of the wider Local Government Review (LGR), the Council is required to actively engage in discussions with neighbouring authorities to explore potential opportunities for collaboration, shared service delivery, and governance alignment. While this engagement is ongoing, no formal decisions or agreements have been reached at this stage.
Under current LGR proposals, it is likely to require Portsmouth City Council to form a new Authority by merging with other neighbouring Authorities. For Portsmouth, this will result in a new Council being created to provide the same services to everyone in the city, whilst covering a larger area and have a different name. Effectively all the current council services in the area of the new council boundary would be merged to create a new Council.
In light of the ongoing LGR, any future procurement will be designed to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of scope, value, and geographical area. This flexibility is crucial to accommodate the evolving needs and structures of local authorities.
Any tender opportunities and contracts will be structured to allow adjustments in the scope of services and the value of contracts to the Council to respond to changes in demand and budgetary constraints, whilst ensuring that services remain efficient and continue to provide value for money. Additionally, provisions will be included to adapt to changes in geographical boundaries resulting from any reorganisation. This will ensure that services can be extended or retracted to align with new administrative areas.
In the event of reorganisation, contracts will include clauses that allow for the assignment of the contract to successor authorities. Any assignment clause is likely to state any contract may be assigned to any new authority that succeeds the original contracting authority.
For further details in respect of LGR see the following link -
https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/devolution-and-plans-for-local-government-reorganisation/
Anticipated Demand & Contracting Strategy
The Fire Compliance contract is a new addition to the previous Repairs & Maintenance (R&M) and Gas Servicing & Repairs contracts, which has been created in response to changing legislative requirements and the need for greater reporting around compliance activities.
The existing compliance activity is split between the Councils current R&M on and off island contractors and the commercial M&E contractor. The intention is to consolidate these fire activities under a single contract.
The works will be spread across the 1155 block of residential flats, 550 Corporate Assets and 80 non-HRA buildings and will be run under and NEC 4 Option A Priced Activity contract with a base term of 5 year and the option to extend for a further 5 years in agreed increments. The Council are estimating a contract value in the region of £500k-£1m per annum.
Core Scope of Works
The core scope of works will include but not limited to:
• Fire Alarm Testing and Repair
• Lightening Conductor Testing and Repair
• Visual Fire Door Checks
• Sprinkler Testing and Repair
• Fire Damper Testing and Repair
• Fire Extinguishers
• Fire Stopping
• Dry and Wet Riser Testing and Repair
• Smoke Vents
• Evacuation Alert
• Out of Hours
Ancillary Scope of Works
The contract may also require the following to covered or taken forward and will include but not limited to:
• Intruder Alarm Testing and Repair
• PAT Testing
• Powered Doors
Partnership Working
In addition to working in close partnership with the council, the supplier will also be required to work in partnership with the council's other existing term service contractor partners.
Social Value
The Council are committed to continuously reviewing and improving the approach to social value delivery, and suppliers can find further information using the following link -
https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/social-value/