Hampshire County Council

Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel Item 11

30 November 2004

Miscellaneous Approvals

Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

How the conclusion in this report fits with the Corporate Strategy

The proposals in this report will impact on the delivery of the following Corporate Aims

Aim 2 - stewardship of the environment - by ensuring that asbestos in County Council buildings is managed appropriately

Aim 5 - improving services - by providing well maintained buildings that enable improved service delivery

1

Summary

1.1

This report seeks the endorsement of arrangements that have been put in place to appoint consultants with lower levels of professional indemnity and public liability insurance to complete asbestos surveys in the County Council's built estate. The report also seeks approval to include additional schemes to the New Deals for Schools and capital repairs programme, and to negotiate with preferred specialists to complete recladding work at Brookfield and Mountbatten Schools.

2.

Asbestos Surveys - Insurance levels

2.1

In order to meet the actions outlined in the Corporate Risk Assessment Improvement plan and the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 it is necessary to survey all County Council buildings. With insufficient resources in-house it was agreed to appoint consultants to complete this task over a five year period. Given the size of the County Council's estate it was important to engage sufficient consultants to work in the seven areas identified. It was quickly established that very few of the consultants who had expressed an interest in working with the County Council could meet the Council's insurance requirements set out below:

· Professional Indemnity £5m

· Employers Liability £10m

· Public Liability £10m

2.2

Following approval of a risk assessment model by the Risk Management Board (chaired by the Chief Executive), it was agreed to reduce the level of public liability to £5m. The level of professional indemnity also to be reduced to £1m. This approval was on the basis that consultants met specific assessment criteria in relation to quality assurance (UKAS accreditation) and performance, and recognises that there were insufficient contractors with higher levels of insurance to ensure reasonable competition.

2.3

Reduced levels of insurance were therefore approved as follows:

· Professional Indemnity £1m

· Public Liability £5m

· Employers liability £10m

3.

New deal for Schools Condition programme and Capital repairs

3.1

Following consideration by the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel at its meeting on 24 March 2004 the Leader approved the NDS Condition programme on 8 April. Approval is now sought to increase the allocations as follows:

· Brookfield Community School by £50,000 to £450,000 for SCOLA recladding

· All Saints Primary School, Winchester by £110,000 to address structural roofing repairs and provide temporary accommodation during completion of the work (Spring/Summer 2005)

3.2

Approval is also sought to include the following items into the capital repairs programme:

Up to £100,000

· Cherry Orchard Older Persons Home - renewal of boiler plant (£80,000)

· Castle Hill Offices - refurbishment to provide additional capacity (office accommodation budget £50,000)

Up to £200,000

· Gosport Discovery Centre - external render, flooring and roof repairs

4.

Procurement of NDS Schemes

4.1

Work to reclad the SCOLA 1 elevations at Mountbatten School, Romsey and Brookfield School, Sarisbury Green was approved by the Leader in April. It is anticipated that work will begin on site in the spring with completion by early September 2005. It is proposed to tender the main contract work with a shortlist of 3 preferred contractors who have successfully undertaken similar work for the County Council. Tenders will be assessed on the basis of best value. Once the main contractor has been selected for each scheme, tenders will be sought from preferred specialists to undertake the recladding work. Tenders will be negotiated with either Wessex Windows Systems plc or Fleetwood UK Ltd, both of whom have undertaken similar work successfully for the County Council.

Recommendation(s)

That:

The Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that approval be given to:

1

The insurance arrangements put in place when appointing consultants to complete asbestos surveys throughout the County Council's built estate.

2

The additional NDS and capital repairs allocations as detailed in paras 3.1 and 3.2.

3

The procurement proposals associated with the recladding of Brookfield and Mountbatten Schools.