Decision details

That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Approves that Appendix 2 of this report is not for publication on the basis that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) as set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

2. Approves the Procurement Strategy as detailed in Appendix 1 (Procurement Strategy) of this report for the procurement and delivery of a survey of 100% of the Council’s HRA dwelling stock.

3. Delegates authority to the Strategic Director of The Economy Department to amend the proposed scope of services for operational reasons, where such amendments can be contained within the overall approved budget envelope and available resources.

The proposed comprehensive 100% Housing Stock Condition Survey is necessary to provide a necessary baseline for the future allocation of future investment resources across the Council’s HRA asset stock and future asset management and financial planning, which is both robust and effective.

Data captured from the survey will identify priority health and safety hazards and inform future HRA capital and planned maintenance preventative programmes, leading to a future reduction in future responsive maintenance expenditure and visits.

The procurement and appointment of a specialist and experienced surveying company pre-vetted on the Fusion 21 Consultancy Services framework through a competitive mini-competition provides the most effective procurement route.

Option one - Do nothing

The Council’s Housing Improvement and Maintenance programmes would not be based on up-to-date stock condition information and data, resulting in the sub-optimal allocation of resources, projects and funding to the detriment of the Council’s drive to be ruthlessly efficient and resident needs.

Up to date information on health and safety hazards would not be systematically and comprehensively collected resulting in our residents being putting at risk.

The Council’s Climate Change commitments would be compromised due to the lack of up-to-date information on the age and condition profile of housing stock elements such as communal and domestic boilers.

Option two - Undertake a sample archetype-based survey       

Stock Condition data on the Council HRA stock is currently held on less than 20% of that stock. Only approximately 30% of the EPC certificates are recorded and a minimal amount of data on HHSRS.

Carrying out a sample archetype-based survey would not provide us with the level of data required either from a health and safety nor asset management perspective.

As mentioned in above, the Council’s Housing Improvement and Maintenance programmes would not be based on up-to-date stock condition information and data as only a small percentage of the stock would be surveyed by an archetype-based survey. This will result in the sub-optimal allocation of resources, projects and funding to the detriment of the Council’s drive to be ruthlessly efficient and resident needs.

Additionally, the Council’s Climate Change commitments would be compromised due to the lack of up-to-date information on the age and condition profile of housing stock elements such as communal and domestic boilers.

Option three - Undertake a comprehensive 100% survey (preferred option)

To enable the Council to support its investment decisions every year it is necessary that up-to-date stock condition information of its assets are available. Not having this information would result in failure to address repairs and maintenance that would subsequently lead the need for future property element replacements out at a much higher whole asset life cost.

A comprehensive Housing Stock Condition Programme is needed to rectify that as currently there is insufficient asset stock data to enable extrapolation – a process where data of properties surveyed can be used to predict the condition of properties not surveyed.

This is the preferred option combined with the procurement route recommended in Appendix 1, which sets out an analysis of the procurement options and the reasons for the preferred option summarised below.

The recommended procurement route to market is to use a compliant third-party framework in line with CSO 19.1, in this case, Fusion 21’s Consultancy Services, Lot 2 Stock Monitoring and Appraisal framework, and to conduct a further mini-competition among the firms appointed to that framework. This will provide the quickest means to appoint a qualified and suitable supplier consistent with the achievement of value-for-money (vfm)

An inclusive Price per Property (PPP) will be sought for comprehensive (core) SCS, as well as a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) survey, except for non- (mainly leasehold) residential dwellings and for commercial shops, which will be subject only to a HHSRS survey.

In addition, tenderers will also be required to submit separate PPM prices for the delivery of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and of individual floor plans for 12,245 tenanted residential dwellings,  36 shops, and 68 hostel rooms, and four halls (EPC only), all in the HRA, on top of the required core SCS surveys for the same properties.

Pre-tender estimates of the resulting costs are reported in Exempt Appendix 2 (Confidential). A recommendation whether to include the EPC and Floor Plan options within the Contract Award will be made contingent on tenders received and the available funding envelope, but the proper Council Officer may recommend at that time that such information be excluded from public inspection as allowed under Part 4 – Rules of Procedure, of the Constitution under the heading “Access to Information Procedure Rules”, clause 5.2 (page 180), because the information may still be considered to be exempt for the reasons set out in the recommendations to this report.