Issue - meetings

To seek approval to enter into a contract with Morgan Lambert for the provision of carrying out gas and electrical auditing to Council owned dwellings for South Kesteven District Council.

Purpose of report

To seek approval to enter into a contract with Morgan Lambert for the provision of gas and electrical auditing to Council owned dwellings for South Kesteven District Council.

Decision

That Cabinet approves the award of a contract to Morgan Lambert for the provision of carrying out gas and electrical auditing in South Kesteven District Council owned dwellings, with an annual value of £50k for a period of 3 years with the option to extend annually for up to 2 years.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Consideration had been given to the option of carrying out the work in-house, but this was not a viable option due to the specialised nature of this work and third-party assurance required.

Not carrying out the work was also not practicable as this would have led to further issues as noted above. Carrying out this service by means of a third party ensured impartiality was maintained ensuring a fair and transparent service.

Reasons for the decision

Audits were undertaken on a sample of the gas and electrical works completed each month which provide assurance regarding the quality of the works. The annual cost for this service was anticipated at £50,000 per annum and would be met from the Technical Services Gas and Electrical capital budgets.

The procurement opportunity was tendered as a mini competition using a framework run by Efficiency East Midlands (EEM). Following publication of the opportunity five Expressions of Interest were received which resulted in two Tender Submissions.

Morgan Lambert have given the best tender submission through the combination of price and quality to carry out gas and electrical auditing on the Council’s housing stock and to ensure the Council has a compliant contract in place which is compliant with procurement requirements.

The contract award was for the auditing of gas and electrical works rather than for gas and electrical inspections. This award allowed a separate company to audit Council work.