CONTRACTS FOR RESPONSIVE, VOID AND PLANNED MAINTENANCE- INITIAL MARKET ENGAGEMENT

Description

Brent Council manages circa 9,000 rented homes and 4,000 leased homes across the Borough. It currently delivers its responsive repairs, voids and planned maintenance through a single Borough-wide contract which has been in place since 2014 and which is currently due to expire at the end of September 2024. New arrangements will therefore need to be procured. Brent wishes to use the new contracts to drive excellence in customer service and the quality of homes and is considering the following approach: • Separation of the stock into two geographical contract areas • Within each area, separate contracts for: • Responsive repairs • Void repairs • Planned maintenance (internal component replacements such as kitchens and bathrooms, internal communal works, external planned works, major projects including tower block refurbishment, electrical safety and fire safety works) Page 4 to 8 The estimated annual value of the works in total across both areas and all workstreams (responsive, voids and planned) is likely to be initially circa £10 - £15million, potentially rising to circa £20 to £25million. It should be noted that this will be lower in the first 2-3 years of the contract as the planned programme includes major refurbishment works that have already been procured separately. Brent is considering requiring bidders to bid for all 3 elements of work within each geographical area, however separate contracts would be issued for each workstream. Bidders will still be able to submit tenders for both areas however Brent may not award more than one geographical area to a single contractor (the Invitation to Tender will set out the process). Successful bidders may be awarded one or more lots based on the most economically advantageous tender for each lot. In addition, Brent is undertaking a separate procurement for a Subcontractors Framework, which it is intended will encourage participation of local SMEs and will provide an available local supply chain with sustainable rates and prompt payment requirements. This will be in place for the start of this main Responsive, Void and Planned Maintenance contracts although not prior to the procurement process. The successful contractors will be expected to use the councils Subcontractor (local supplier) framework for their supply chain requirements. Brent is keen to understand the level of interest from contractors in bidding for these proposed Contracts for responsive repairs, voids and planned maintenance and to shape the offer to secure maximum interest from the market. As a result, the council is proposing to have a market engagement event on the 14th of February 2024 via teams (Details of the teams invite will be sent on a later date). Please send your contact details including email details for the teams invite to LBBtender@arkconsultancy.co.uk confirming your interest in attending this engagement. We would be grateful if you would provide response to questions below in SECTION 5 (Additional Details) Additional information: Brent is keen to understand the level of interest from contractors in bidding for these proposed Contracts for responsive repairs, voids and planned maintenance and to shape the offer to secure maximum interest from the market. As a result, the council is proposing to Interested tenderers are required to provide response to the below questions and submit via email to LBBtender@arkconsultancy.co.uk as part of the councils on-going soft market testing. The deadline to submit your response is 5pm Monday 12th February 2024. have a market engagement event on the 14th of February 2024 via teams (Details of the teams invite will be sent on a later date). Please send your contact details including email details for the teams invite to LBBtender@arkconsultancy.co.uk confirming your interest in attending this engagement. We would be grateful if you would provide response to questions below Your responses to the below questions must be submitted via email to LBBtender@arkconsultancy.co.uk no later than 5pm on Monday 12th February 2024. All queries regarding this notice to go to same email address. Your response should include how you would work with the proposed Subcontractor Framework, setting out your requirements and general principles Question 1: Can you confirm that you would in principle be willing to utilise the Subcontractor Framework in the first instance for your supply chain requirements. What risks and considerations do you identify from a) Using the Brent Supply Chain for all your subcontract work including responsive & void repairs in a Price Per Property (PPP)/ Price Per Void (PPV) context b) Using the Brent Supply Chain for Exclusions to the PPP/PPV and Planned Works only c) Any specific suggestions on how to ensure that the Subcontractor Framework works better for all in relation to: Pricing each workstream Onboarding processes Calling off the subcontractors Managing performance Any other areas Question 2 What works do you typically self-deliver through your own directly employed workforce and which do you normally subcontract Question 3 We are proposing a Price Per Property (PPP) and Price Per Void (PPV) model with set Exclusions which would be payable on schedules of rates. For planned works we are considering a Cost Plus model, with tendered Preliminaries, Overheads and Profit. Do you have any views or advice on how the commercial model should be structured to get the best value for money responses from the market, given your experience of working with similar organisations This should include: how this would relate to the use of the Subcontractor Framework, and how this could operate with both the fixed cost and variable cost/ Exclusion elements. Typical items that may be Exclusions from PPP and PPV Separation of Preliminary Costs from PPV Question 4 Is there a minimum annual contract value that you would be interested in And what is your view of the optimum contact size/value, given the size/nature of the Council's housing stock Do you have any thoughts on the split by geographical area and workstream? Question 5 What would be the minimum and optimal contract length for a contract of this type Would the inclusion of a no-fault break with sufficient notice clause at any point influence your decision to bid and/or your pricing structure for the contract Question 6 We are proposing to use the JCT Measured Term Contract. To what extent do you think this would provide an appropriate form of contract Do you have any views/advice on how to use this form of contract to best effect Question 7 What steps would you like to see taken to minimise risk (and risk pricing) to achieve an equitable contractual relationship Question 8 Do you have any other suggestions on how we should shape the requirement Is there any 'good practice' or any recent positive experience of tender opportunities that you are able to share so that we can try to make sure our procurement process delivers the best results/experience for the Council and its customers and for bidders