Agenda item

In September 2019 Homes for Haringey commenced a procurement to identify contractors to carry out gas related servicing & repairs to its properties within the Western and Eastern regions of the borough.

The Managing Director of Homes for Haringey under delegated powers awarded two contracts, each for an initial term of two years with an option to extend up to three years in one year increments up to (maximum term of five years). These contracts were awarded to:

• Purdy Contracts Ltd – Contract value £2.39m per annum

• Sureserve Compliance Services Ltd – Contract value £2.36m per annum

The contract was now approaching the end of its 5 year duration (which included 3 x 1 year extensions) and was now due to be re-tendered for a further 7 years (5 years plus 2 x 1 year extensions), due to the complexity of the new contracts it would take longer than anticipated to be ready to retender and mobilise for 1st October 2025, therefore the Council needed to request approval to extend both of the current contracts for a further 6-months commencing from 1st October 2025 until 31st March 2026.

This would enable enough time for the full procurement of 3 x new heating contracts which would consist of 3 lots, 2 x domestic lots and 1 x Commercial /Communal lot. It would also bring the start date of the new contracts into line with the new financial year from 1st April 2026, making budgeting and financial forecasting easier. 

Re-procuring a new contract had proven to be more complex due to the need to have 3 x contracts in place. A completely new and separate commercial/communal heating contract had to be developed in order to address newer technologies like renewable energy (Ground source and air source heat pumps), District Energy Networks and complex heating systems, the commercial/communal heating contract also needed to align with the new Heat Network regulations which would come into force in 2025, and heavily regulated under a Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) to ensure fairer pricing, clearer billing and improved service standards for residents.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED 

That, in accordance with the Council’s Contract Standing Order 18.03.3 in accordance with CSO 2, the variation/extension to a contract dated 1st October 2020 with an initial Expiry Date of 30th September 2025 between the Council and the Service Provider for [a gas servicing programme in Haringey – Lot 1 and Lot 2] (the “Contracts”) under Contract Standing Order 18.03.3 in accordance with CSO 2 agree to extend both current Gas Servicing contracts with the following contractors, by extending the current term of the Service by up to six (6) months until 31st March 2026.

• Purdy Contracts Limited, effective from 1st October 2025 to provide for a further extension of six (6) months to 31st March 2026, at an additional cost of £1,305,000.00 (total additional cost £1,305,000.00.)

• Sureserve Compliance Services Ltd, effective from 1st October 2025 to provide for a further extension of six (6) months to 31st March 2026, at an additional cost of £1,220,000.00 (total additional cost £1,220,000.00.)

Each contract is to be extended for a period of 6 months commencing from 1st October 2025 until the 31st of March 2026.

Reasons for decision 

The reasons for seeking to extend this contract are set out below:

To continue with the servicing and maintenance of Domestic & Commercial heating systems with minimal disruption to the residents due to faults and breakdowns.

To ensure continuity of ensuring that the Council was adhering to regulation 36 (Duties of Landlords) under the gas safe regulations 1998 to keep residents safe.

This was the most economically advantageous route as a new interim provider would almost certainly inflate the contract sum which would be challenging under the Council’s current financial climate.

To procure the new long-term Domestic & Commercial Heating contracts for mobilisation by 1st April 2026 which was in alignment with the new financial year.

Alternative options considered

Undertaking a full procurement exercise to re-tender the contract: A full procurement exercise was currently underway but would not be completed before 1 October 2025, which would mean that there would be no service provision for gas & heating repairs, maintenance and renewals.

Do Nothing: This was not an option, due to the Councils statutory health and safety obligations.

In-house Delivery: This option had been previously investigated; however, it would not be viable to deliver these services in house due to the lack of skill sets within the housing repair service to repair and maintain the various types of heating systems that the Council currently managed. It would also take a significant amount of time, planning, and investment to set up an in-house team in an extremely competitive market at this time.

CABINET MEMBER: Councillor Sarah Williams 

Signed by Cabinet Member ……………………………… 

Date ……………16 September 2025…………….