Agenda item

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 award to Bidder B of a contract, and associated expenditure, for the provision and replacement of fire rated flat entrance doors, communal doors and riser/service cupboard doors and passive fire safety & decoration works, within the Council’s residential housing stock as detailed within the programme schedule.

2.    Noted that approval shall be provisional subject to the second stage s20 Leasehold consultation process. The award decision will be implemented where no observations are received. Should observations be received, the award will not be implemented and the decision returned to Cabinet.

Reasons for decision

To comply with fire safety legislation, including the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022. To meet Building Regulations (Approved Document B) requirements which sets out the minimum standards for fire rated doors in specific areas of residential properties, which ensures compliance with British Standards for fire resistance for door sets.

Fire doors and associated building works are a critical part of passive fire protection in buildings; they help prevent and contain fire and smoke. By upgrading fire doors to comply with the current standards for certified installation of the door sets, and carrying out associated fire safety works, we will reduce the risk of fire spread, particularly in high-rise or multi-occupancy housing. We will implement this replacement programme, targeting doors installed during the original construction of the building or replaced during historic planned work that do not meet the required standards that have been updated since the Grenfell tragedy to improve resident safety.

Fire Risk Assessments and regular fire door inspections identify doors that require replacement with compliant door and allows us to prioritise those of greatest risk within our programme. When replacing the non-compliant fire doors in the Council’s residential buildings, we can review the Fire Risk Assessment which sets the overall risk rating of the building, which is then likely to be reduced.

Older fire doors lack test certification and evidence of compliance or traceability of performance standards. However, in lower rise buildings (below 18m in height) will be assessed by the Risk Assessor and may be considered as ‘notional’ 30-minute fire doors. This can be acceptable in certain situations, and such doors will therefore be a lower priority within the programme or replaced if appropriate, during our major works programme. Such doors may be assessed as acceptable under the following circumstances

·       Good Condition: They should be solid, heavy, and free from warping or significant gaps. 

·       Good Fit: There should be a close fit in the frame, with gaps not exceeding 4mm (excluding the gap at the bottom). 

·       Small Premises: They are often acceptable in small, non-domestic premises and small residential blocks below 18m and where the risk is considered to be low. 

·       Older Buildings: Where they meet the standards of their era and are suitable as long as the overall building risk is low. 

However, in high-rise, (above 18m) and buildings assessed as higher risk, the Council are required to replace and install certified, and tested, fire door sets to demonstrate compliance and to digitally store evidence of certification for the Golden Thread of information as set out in the recommendations of the Hackitt report following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.

It is intended to award two contracts, for the delivery of two programmes with a maximum value of up to £12.5m each. It is anticipated that each programme will take 5 years to complete. This award is for the first of those contracts. A second procurement exercise will be undertaken subsequently in 2026, to award the second contract. The reason for two separate contracts is to reduce risk of reliance on one contractor for such a large and specialist technical programme, and to ensure appropriate in-house resources can be allocated over a staggered period to appropriately manage both programmes.

Appropriate management, quality assurance and reviews will be in place, to ensure we can effectively maintain required levels of service and avoid poor performance or contractor failure, and thereby, ensure best value throughout the contract. We will also ensure instruction of work is based on contractor performance throughout the term in accordance with contract conditions and achievement of Key Performance Indicators.

A procurement strategy was chosen to ensure standardised fire rated door sets across our housing stock. This provides consistency of doors installed in the Council’s Housing stock which, for which it remains the Responsible and Principal Accountable Person. This approach to provision will improve maintenance efficiency and ensure consistency of information to residents, so that they will have a better understanding of how fire doors operate and are less likely to impede their operation, which will improve their safety. It will also ensure our statutory duties are fulfilled regarding the compliant management of fire doors.

This contract will be subject to determination under a break clause, allowing the Council to withdraw from the contract for reasons including continued and unresolved poor performance, and/or in the event that services can successfully be delivered through in-house expertise and resources.

The programme is fully capital funded and included within the current medium term financial plan. Delivery and associated expenditure will be smoothed across the contract term as much as possible and a more detailed estimated expenditure profile projection is included in the Exempt part of this report and takes into account the need for submission of applications under the Gateway process for the Building Safety Regulator where applicable.

The award of this contract provides a fully inclusive service to survey, measure, manufacture and install, and supply only if required, of new fire door sets and associated works.

The programme covers all fire door types including Flat Entrance Doors and communal doors that include Riser and cupboard Doors, Stairwell and Cross Corridor doors. Whilst approximately half of the 10,000 flat entrance doors identified for replacement, will be covered by this programme, the actual total number of doors that will be replaced will be determined through final inspection and prioritisation. It will also be dependent upon the number of communal doors requiring replacement in the block and the amount of associated building remedial works required. 

Alternative options considered

Do nothing: This is not an option due to the Councils statutory health and safety obligation. 

Undertake all the work in-house: This option is not currently viable due to the strict requirement of manufacturing the fire door sets and 3^rd party certification for the installation of the doors.

Procure a more traditional installer led supply chain. This was not preferred due to the inconsistencies it presents in terms of control over the door supplier, potentially leading to inconsistencies in standards, reliability, maintenance requirements, and safety.

Procure one single supplier for all door replacements. Due to the size of the programme, it was felt that better value and delivery could be achieved through having two contracts running in parallel. However, due to current market availability, we are unable to make the two awards from a single procurement exercise. A second procurement will therefore be undertaken early in 2026.