Agenda item

The Cabinet Member noted the report, which sought authorisation to appoint an Independent Tenant & Leaseholder Advisory (ITLA) Services Framework to assist in estate renewal, for a four-year period.

Officers advised that the Council had been successfully using an ITLA at the Love Lane estate, as part of the High Road West scheme for the past three years. The existing ITLA had proved very popular with residents. Due to procurement regulations, the Council had reached a financial threshold with its existing ITLA and sought approval to enter into a framework contract, which would provide additional flexibility and give residents a choice of ITLA.

Officers emphasised that the funding, resourcing and supporting an ITLA would be done on a project by project basis. It was noted that a contract would need to be drawn up for the framework, once a decision to proceed with a framework for the four bidders had been agreed. Officers clarified that discussions were ongoing as to how the framework would interact with the HDV and whether the appointment of an ITLA from the framework would be a Council or HDV responsibility.

In response to a question on what the likely cost would be, officers acknowledged that High Road West scheme would need to appoint a new ITLA fairly quickly to replace the current arrangement. However, it was difficult to give an estimate of cost at this stage as each of the schemes were different and would need to appoint their own ITLA, dependant on the size and the nature of the project.

Cllr Cater asked whether there was a brief available for the bids. Officers, advised that the specification had been listed on the procurement portal and that this included an extensive range of requirements for bidders to meet. Officers agreed to speak to Procurement to ascertain whether the information was publically available. (Action: Matthew Maple).  An overview of the requirements was listed at Paragraph 2.3 of the report.

In response to a request for clarification on the extent to which the ITLA was independent from the Council and the likelihood of it advising residents to not co-operate with Council, officers advised that this was unlikely and that the job of the ITLA was to facilitate and not obstruct regeneration work.  Officers clarified that the role of the ITLA was to facilitate a good relationship between the Council and residents. The ITLA was there to give advice and guidance to residents, given their extensive experience of dealing with estate regeneration across different local authorities. The need for advice and guidance was pertinent due the complex nature of regeneration projects and planning legislation.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet Member agreed:

1. To approve the appointment of an Independent Tenant and Leaseholder Advisory Services framework for a four-year period, in accordance with paragraph 6.12, for use in supporting regeneration and housing projects across Haringey, consisting of the following companies: -

a)    Micro fish Communications Ltd

b)    PPCR Associates Limited

c)    Newman Francis Limited

d)    Source Partnership Consulting Limited

Reasons for decision

The council’s vision for regeneration includes new and improved housing alongside other measures including better local town centres; enterprise, employment and training; transport; health; education; community safety; and environmental improvements. Growth is essential not only to meet the needs of residents but also to put the council itself on a more sustainable footing for the long term.

Estate regeneration was playing a key part in this change, working in partnership with developers and investors, notably through the Haringey Development Vehicle, which would be responsible for the regeneration of key sites in Wood Green and Northumberland Park Estate amongst its portfolio of sites, and the preferred partner for the High Road West development.

The Council believes that people are at the heart of successful regeneration and wants to work together with residents to ensure that the community were involved in decisions and services which affect their area as it considers that it is ‘the right thing to do’ as well being in line with best practice.

Support for residents has been undertaken in partnership with the Independent Tenant and Leaseholder Advisors employed in each of the regeneration areas with the High Road West contract due to be renewed and the Northumberland Park contract expiring in January 2018.  However, the extent of the work required to be undertaken by the ITLA and the potential for additional projects to come on stream was now considered too great to rely on procurement through an ad hoc process. Requiring officers to undertake a full procurement exercise each time an ITLA is required would create significant duplication and be contrary to the Council’s commitment to ensure value for money principles are adhered to. A framework with a simplified mini tender component was also likely to encourage more providers to come forward, as demonstrated by four providers submitting applications for the framework compared to two when the Northumberland Park invitation to tender was issued.

The Council was now looking to undertake a more formal procurement which will provide long term sustainability for the role, and provide greater stability to residents and Council officers alike.

ITLA frameworks have been used successfully in other boroughs and are considered to meet the needs in Haringey, providing a range of good quality ITLA practitioners, giving the council and its residents the capacity and scope to select the appropriate partner for each and every regeneration and housing area that would benefit from this intervention.

The tender process was undertaken under EU regulations, advertised through the Official Journal of the EU, with officers contacting an extensive range of interested organisations to ensure a good response.  Four organisations responded and demonstrated their capabilities through strong responses to the tender requirements and questions, and it is therefore proposed to promote all four to the framework.

This decision does not commit the council to any expenditure nor are there any obligations to use any of the providers listed on the framework.  Budgets for ITLA services will be allocated in relation to each individual project, approved through a separate tender and approval process.  The Council will look into suitable arrangements for clienting and funding ITLA posts for projects in the HDV.

Alternative options considered

CONTINUE TO APPOINT ITLA’S FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS

As regeneration projects of the size undertaken in Haringey were anticipated to take many years to undertake, the services required to provide consistent and continual independent advice to tenants and leaseholders had been found to breach the threshold for EU procurement.  Given the extensive requirements needed to meet EU regulations, it was not seen as economical or feasible in relation to time constraints to do this.  Providing a framework allowed the council to appoint an ITLA in a relatively short space of time so that residents’ needs and aspirations can be properly incorporated into the regeneration programme.

DISPENSE WITH ITLA SERVICES

Professional and experienced Independent Tenant and Leaseholder Advisory services were vital to promoting trust between the council and a community who were part of a regeneration process, ensuring that complex issues can be related to residents and they can properly engage with the development of the scheme.  Their use in estate regeneration schemes is encouraged by both DCLG and GLA as indicated above and were generally recognised as representing best practice in engaging with local people during the regeneration process. To dispense with the services of an ITLA could potentially undermine the delivery of regeneration schemes. The Estate Renewal, Rehousing and Payments Policy (ERRPP) was currently being consulted on to include an amendment which provides Housing Association tenants with the same rights as Council tenants. This increased the likelihood of ITLA services being required as the Council is supporting regeneration which impacts on Housing Association properties.