Agenda item

Salford City Council - Record of Decision

I Councillor Hinds, Lead Member for Finance and Support Services and chairman of the Procurement Board, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution do hereby approve the award of the following contract for a project approved under the Capital Programme as detailed below:-

The Reasons are: To reduce Anti-social behaviour activities and the preparation of the site for re-development.

Options considered and rejected were: None. All procedures are in accordance with normal Contractual Standing Orders

Assessment of Risk: High

The works have been identified as a priority under the capital programme as the building has become a concern due to ASBO, which has resulted in an increase amount of vandalism after being vacated by the BBC Northwest. 

The building contains significant amounts of asbestos material for, which removal will be under a controlled licenced requirement and will dictate the speed of the demolition. Connell Brothers hold a full 3-year asbestos removal licence and are long standing members of ARCA (Asbestos Removal Contractors Association).

With Connell Brothers controlling ‘in house’ both the licenced asbestos removal work and the demolition work this will help eliminate any problems associated with placing a heavy reliance on a sub-contracted 3rd party licenced asbestos removal contractor. Given urgency to demolish the building it is deemed advantageous to appoint a demolition contractor who holds an asbestos removal licence.

The source of funding is:

The source of funding is: 2020/21 Capital Programme

Expenditure Code: D09335

Legal Advice obtained. Supplied by: The Shared Legal Service - Contact officer and telephone number: Tony Hatton - Principal Solicitor tel. 0161 219 6323.

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services, or the execution of works, the Council must comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and its own Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s), failing which a contract may be subject to legal challenge from an aggrieved provider. The proposed award of the contract follows a tender exercise by mini competition in accordance with the Framework agreement for Demolition and Associated Services.

The purpose of a framework agreement is to select through a procurement/ evaluation process a number of providers who can meet the service requirements of the Council, as and when those services are required. If they are required then the Council will undertake an exercise to call off the services from one or more of the providers who have been selected to be on the framework and this may be through any number of ways e.g. mini-competition, direct allocation etc. depending on the circumstances. A contract will then be formed between the Council and the chosen provider/s.

The Council will need to have followed the procedure set out in the framework agreement for mini competition to ensure the procurement process is compliant. Three tenders were received from framework suppliers for this project, which have been evaluated on the most economically advantageous tender basis in line with procurement procedures resulting in the proposed award of the contract to Connell Brothers Limited. The procurement procedures therefore appear robust and compliant with the requirements of the Council’s CSO’s and PCR.

Legal Services will assist with preparing any contractual documentation upon receipt of instructions to ensure the Council’s position and interest are protected

Financial Advice obtained. Submitted by:  The Finance Team - Contact officer and telephone number: Natali Birchall (Finance Officer).

The costs detailed in this report to a maximum of £390,000 (Tender costs £334,000.00 plus professional fees and associated costs of £56,000.00) will be funded from the approved place, property 2021/22 capital programme.

Procurement Advice obtained: Supplied by:  The Corporate Procurement Team Contact officer and telephone number: Deborah Derbyshire (Category Manager – Corporate Procurement Team) Tel; 0161 686 6244

The project has been competitively tendered by means of a mini competition under the Council’s own Demolition and Associated Services Framework, which complies with the Councils Contractual Standing Orders and the Procurement Contract Regulations.

The winning tenderer has submitted the most economically advantageous offer in line with the rules of the framework and the award also supports the Council’s objectives of working towards delivering social value on this contract

HR Advice obtained; N/A

Climate Change Implications:

All projects are developed to meet or exceed current legislation and requirements relating to energy efficiency and carbon reduction targets. Projects are required to support the Council’s objectives of becoming carbon neutral by 2028.

The following documents have been used to assist the decision process.

Report to Procurement Board dated 28^th July 2021.

Contact Officer: Jon Phillips

Telephone number: 0161 779 4814

This matter is not subject to consideration by another Lead Member.

The relevant Scrutiny Committee to call-in this decision is the Growth and Prosperity Scrutiny Panel.

*         This decision was published on 28 July 2021

*         This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 4 August 2021 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.