Warmer Homes - Local Authority Delivery - Project Management Delivery Administration Services

Concepts

• construction project management
• project management delivery administration services
• agilityeco services ltd
• portsmouth
• local authority delivery grant funding
• local authority delivery
• local authority
• portsmouth's homes
• warmer homes
• project and design preparation

Location

This project will continue to support other partner authorities already engaged with round 1A of the scheme, as well as further additional councils who have subsequently engaged under round 1B. The participating authorities are as follows: • Portsmouth CC • Gosport BC • Havant and East Hampshire DC • Southend-on-Sea BC • Peterborough CC • Rutland CC • West Sussex CC • Eastleigh Borough Council • Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

Description

Portsmouth City Council - the 'Council' - in partnership with AgilityEco Services Ltd - the 'Supplier' - has successfully secured further Local Authority Delivery grant funding to the value of £6,027,497 from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's (BEIS) Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme, round 1B. The securing of this funding builds upon previous funding which the Council and the Supplier successfully secured in October 2020 from BEIS to the value of £3,100,500 under round 1A of the LAD scheme. The round 1B funding will be used to extend the scheme to provide 914 additional domestic households with energy efficiency measures, including the addition of offering solar PV. The additional funding also allows for extension of overall scheme operation from March 2021 to the end of September 2021, and is open to a much wider cohort of properties in the city; including SAP rated band D properties, which make up approximately 40% of Portsmouth's homes. This project will continue to support other partner authorities already engaged with round 1A of the scheme, as well as further additional councils who have subsequently engaged under round 1B. The participating authorities are as follows: • Portsmouth CC • Gosport BC • Havant and East Hampshire DC • Southend-on-Sea BC • Peterborough CC • Rutland CC • West Sussex CC • Eastleigh Borough Council • Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

Total Quantity or Scope

The properties treated will have some of the lowest EPCs ratings in the city and consortium areas, with the currently poor energy efficiency of these properties is likely to lead to the threat of fuel poverty. Fuel poverty has been identified in Portsmouth and nationally as a key contributor to chronic ill health, excess winter death and poor economic engagement and attainment from affected households. It is of strategic importance to the city to address fuel poverty where remedies are possible. … The activities can be summarised as follows: 1) Project Administration Activities: a) Supporting the Council in managing its Recipient Agreement with the Grant Funder; b) Maintaining a CRM database; c) Maintaining a list of approved contractors; d) Provision of management information; e) Setting up and supporting a project Steering Group; f) Marketing and promotion; g) Securing, maximising and receiving the matched funding; h) Tracking milestones; i) Administering finances; j) Preparing quarterly Funding Use Reports; k) Requesting and receiving funds; l) Change control; m) Preparing the Project Closure Report. 2) Customer process management activities: a) Taking initial enquiries and applications from the public; b) Accepting and managing referrals; c) Carrying out eligibility checks; d) Referring the household to LEAP or alternative fuel poverty outreach scheme; e) Liaising with the relevant distribution network operator (DNO); f) Referring the household to the appropriate contractor(s) for a technical survey of the property, pre-install EPC, the actual install of the measures and engaging with the contractor(s) to overcome any identified issues; g) Liaising with the household to confirm the terms and conditions for the scheme and issue them with a voucher to cover the costs of the work; h) Tracking each household's progress through the process; i) Offering continuous communication with the householders; j) Ensuring contractors undertake all post-install EPCs; k) Ensuring all required compliance documentation, guarantees and warranties are in order for all completed jobs; l) Dealing with any other issues and complaints that arise.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

In the event that further Warm Homes LAD funding becomes available again at short notice via the announcement of further funding rounds, the Council may extend the scope of the contract in terms of value, duration and place of performance should further local authorities opt into the scheme.

CPV Codes

• 71541000 - Construction project management services
• 71241000 - Feasibility study, advisory service, analysis
• 71242000 - Project and design preparation, estimation of costs
• 71244000 - Calculation of costs, monitoring of costs
• 71247000 - Supervision of building work
• 71248000 - Supervision of project and documentation
• 71314300 - Energy-efficiency consultancy services
• 71314310 - Heating engineering services for buildings
• 71315200 - Building consultancy services
• 71315210 - Building services consultancy services
• 71355000 - Surveying services
• 71520000 - Construction supervision services
• 71540000 - Construction management services
• 71621000 - Technical analysis or consultancy services
• 75100000 - Administration services
• 79131000 - Documentation services
• 79132000 - Certification services
• 79211000 - Accounting services
• 79342000 - Marketing services
• 79416000 - Public relations services
• 79421000 - Project-management services other than for construction work
• 79994000 - Contract administration services

Indicators

• Options are available.

Legal Justification

For both funding rounds in respect of the BEIS Warmer Homes LAD schemes, the period of time from announcement to submission of application did not allow sufficient time undertake a compliant procurement procedure in order to secure a delivery partner Supplier, even with application of accelerated timescales. A complete application could not be made without the securing of a delivery partner Supplier by virtue of resource limitations faced by the Council and the additional participating authorities. Without the submission of a robust evidenced business case and delivery plan the funding could not have been secured. In respect of round 1A the availability of funding was only announced by BEIS in early August 2020 with a deadline for submission of full applications by 1st September 2020. The only way in which the Council could meet this deadline was through prompt negotiated direct award of a below threshold service contract (£182,500) in order to quickly secure the delivery partner Supplier. The Supplier was selected on the basis of an existing contractual arrangement between the Council and the Supplier for services of an almost identical nature in respect of technical scope and of similar scale - 2018/S 106-242112 - Warm Homes Funding - Project Management Delivery Administration Services. This contract was awarded in August 2018 for an approximate term of 3 years and at an estimated value of £244,052. The subsequent extension of the Warmer Homes LAD scheme via funding round 1B was only announced in late October 2020 with submission of full applications by 4th December 2020. In addition to the prohibitive timescales for compliantly procuring a delivery partner Supplier, it was vital that the consistency of Supplier for delivery of schemes related to funding rounds 1A and 1B was achieved by virtue of the 1A and 1B schemes being in effect 1 overall scheme which had been subject to extension, rather than being 2 separate stand alone schemes which could theoretically have allowed for award to an alternative supplier. Extension of the scheme has meant that the associated scope of the contract with the Supplier in respect of both term and value has significantly increased and now constitutes an above threshold service contract, with the cumulative estimated value now reaching £750,618. In view of the above it is the Council's position that the extension of the contract has been brought about by reasons of extreme urgency outside of the Council's control and that the award of the above threshold contract via application of the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication is consistent with the provisions set out within Regulation 32 1 c) of the Public Contracts Regulations (2015).

Other Information

In accordance with the grant funding application submitted to BEIS the Council has commissioned the Supplier to undertake Project Administration Activities and Customer Process Management Activities required for effective delivery of the scheme in accordance with the stated grant conditions. The Council will commission these activities from the Supplier via variation of the existing contract between the parties for the provision of activities associated with round 1A which was entered into in October 2020 for an approx. term of 6 months and at an estimated value of £182,500. The technical scope of the round 1A activities included for within this contract are identical to those required for delivery of round 1B. The cost for delivery of the activities associated with round 1B is £568,118 over the additional 6 month delivery programme bringing the overall estimated value of the contract to £750,618.