Issue - meetings

Report of the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning (Deputy Leader)

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the provisional award of MDC (Multi-Disciplinary Consultants) Contracts across four geographical lots to four separate successful bidders identified as Bidders 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the exempt portion of this report, in accordance with CSO2.01(C).
   
   
2. Noted that following this provisional award, the second stage of Section 20 consultation would take place by issue of a Notice of Proposal and that following the consultation, a report would be brought back to Cabinet for decision, taking account of any observations made in that consultation.
   
   
3. Noted that the award would be for a period of 12 years with a 5-year break clause. The 12-year period considered the recently procured 10-year partnering contracts and the time required to support the contract by completing and agreeing final accounts during the final years of the partnering contracts.
   
   
4. Noted that the approximate value of the contract award to the four selected bidders was determined based on a fee percentage, as outlined in Appendix A – Part A – Exempt Report, Sections 1.7.2 and 2.1.1.
   
   
5. Approved delegated authority for the Director of Housing, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources, to issue task orders under the contract in line with the annual Cabinet-approved Housing Revenue Account Housing Capital Programme.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

Haringey Council owned and managed approximately 20,500 properties within the London Borough of Haringey.

The award of the four MDC (Multi-Disciplinary Consultants) Contracts supported the strategy approved by Cabinet in July 2022, ‘Partnering Contracts Strategy for Housing Major Works,’ and established four long-term contracts identified as the best way to support the major works programme and address decency issues. This approach adopted a holistic method to refurbishing properties and blocks (both tenanted and leasehold) and maximized the social value benefits of the Council’s investment. Key objectives of these contracts included:

• Ensuring that all stock met the Decent Homes Standard and that this was maintained going forward.
• Ensuring that all Council-owned homes had a minimum of an EPC B by 2035.
• Ensuring that statutory safety standards were maintained in all blocks.
• Providing employment and training opportunities; supporting and enabling SME supply chains in the borough to benefit from the investment; and involving residents at all stages in the procurement and delivery process.
  
  

In December 2023, Cabinet approved a new Housing Asset Management Strategy. This strategy established a clear process for prioritizing investment in the Council’s housing stock, set a new Haringey Investment Standard, and defined the framework for the delivery of investment. This framework was created through the establishment of the long-term partnering contracts and the Cabinet-approved strategy (July 2022) and provided a robust, streamlined framework to enhance commissioning and delivery of housing investment, contract administration and management of contracts and contractors, and realization of value for money and social value.

The MDC (Multi-Disciplinary Consultants) Contracts supported the delivery of housing capital investment works to properties owned and managed by the Council, including but not restricted to:

• Decent Homes-related works
• Building safety  ...  view the full decision text for item 357

The Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Local Economy introduced the report.

It was explained that the Council had plans for investing in its housing stock, committing £570m over the next 10 years. This ensured that the Council would achieve and maintain 100% Decent Homes from 2028 onwards and included supporting the delivery of Haringey’s zero carbon targets by bringing the stock from an average Energy Performance Rating (EPC) C to B by 2035.

It was explained that the Asset Management Strategy approved by Cabinet in December 2023 set out a new approach to delivering capital works to the Council’s housing stock. It was noted that this proposal contributed to the Corporate Delivery Plan 2024–26 objective to drive up the quality of homes for everyone. This included supporting Haringey’s zero carbon targets through improving the energy efficiency of the housing stock.

The proposed Multi-Disciplinary Consultants (MDC) contracts supported the recently procured partnering contracts, where four long-term Partnering Contracts were awarded to four separate main contractors. The MDCs would support the delivery of the major works programme by enabling greater resident involvement in procurement and governance.

It was explained that a key element of the proposed MDC Contracts was maximising the Social Value benefits of the new contracts, which included: maximising the employment, training, social and environmental benefits to communities in Haringey from the £570m investment in the Council’s housing stock; requiring that all consultants set out social value commitments and their approach to delivering these commitments; employing one apprentice per £1m expenditure as well as wider jobs and training initiatives for local people, supply chain activities and career support; and promoting the use of the local supply chain, recognising the Council’s Borough Plan objectives for maximising use of, upskilling and enabling the local supply chain.

Following questions from Councillor Connor, the following information was shared:

• It was explained by officers that the proposed call-off contract would only be utilised when the service couldn’t be delivered in house, which would ensure there would be no duplication of work.
  
  
• It was explained by officers that the proposal would reduce the need to procure on a partial basis, and therefore, reduce procurement costs through competition between contracts, as well as ensure that rates were set throughout the year.
  
  
• It was explained that the Council would be engaging with resident groups when undertaking any work in an individual area. It was also explained that the Council could also utilise third party consultants to validate any variations and determine if those variations were reasonable and gain assurance that they remained value for money.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the provisional award of MDC (Multi-Disciplinary Consultants) Contracts across four geographical lots to four separate successful bidders identified as Bidders 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the exempt portion of this report, in accordance with CSO2.01(C).
   
   
2. Noted that following this provisional award, the second stage of Section 20 consultation would take place by issue of a Notice of Proposal and that following the consultation, a report would be brought  ...  view the full minutes text for item 357