Councillor Lesley Kelly, Cabinet Member for Housing & Public Protection, introduced the report
The report sought permission for the Council to take part in a Greater London Authority (GLA) procurement framework to select a preferred provider for accessing funding from the national Green Deal scheme and the ECO strand of the Green Deal, which was targeted at low income households.
The report recommended that the Council access this funding through a preferred provider because of the likelihood that, through the Energy Companies’ Obligations within the Green Deal, a significant amount of funding could be brought into Havering, potentially as much as £1.89million over two years, depending on take up.
It was noted that the GLA had already set up the framework, therefore there would be no costs to the Council in setting up its own framework if it joined the GLA framework. It would also allow the Council to partner with other London boroughs in accessing funding.
If the council was successful in securing funding through the framework for its social housing stock, this could also free up earmarked funds to be re-directed to other properties in need of improvement work.
Reasons for the decision:
Procuring services to access funding and deliver household energy efficiency measures is necessary to enable the Council to:
- Address fuel poverty in Havering,
- Assist residents most vulnerable to energy price increases,
- Reduce excess winter deaths and the need for higher levels of social care and health services during winter,
- Improve the quality of housing in Havering,
- Enable older residents to maintain independent living, by ensuring their home environments have adequate heating and insulation, a priority identified in the Havering Health and Well-being Strategy 2012-14,
- Redirect allocated resource in the Homes and Housing capital (Decent Homes) and maintenance budgets, which will allow further works to be delivered.
Using the GLA RE:NEW framework to procure these services is the most cost-effective and efficient mechanism to compare offers by a range of providers and will enable the Council to secure the best offers to deliver a range of measures across housing tenures for the benefit all Havering residents.
Other options considered:
The other options that have been considered are:
· To tender for the works independently:
This option has been considered but discounted, as it is deemed to be unnecessarily resource intensive. The GLA has procured a Framework Panel of organisations under their RE:NEW project which allows London boroughs to procure for similar services. Some London local authorities will be using the GLA framework, while others may choose to undertake their own tendering exercises. However, the existing GLA framework provides the flexibility in delivering schemes that Havering requires, without the need to undergo a full tender process. Officers are satisfied with the range of contractors on the GLA framework and that it meets procurement rules for Havering.
Using the GLA Framework will enable Havering to procure the services required while requiring less Council staff time and expertise if we were to tender directly. It will enable us to undertake fair comparison amongst a range of providers to determine best value for money, and to procure a larger package of services in order to get better funding offers rather than through quotes for individual projects.
· To not seek to attract external funding:
Green Deal and ECO funding are required to meet the priorities outlined in the Corporate Plan, the Council’s Fuel Poverty Strategy, the Climate Change Action Plan, the Housing Strategy, Private Sector Housing Strategy and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. The government’s Home Energy Conservation Act (1995) requires Councils to report annually on the actions undertaken to promote Green Deal and access ECO in their local authority areas. Without ECO and Green Deal schemes, we would not be able to achieve our objectives to tackle fuel poverty and assist our vulnerable, typically older, residents who may be struggling to adequately heat their homes. This will lead to related social and health impacts for vulnerable residents in winter, resulting in greater pressure on health services and adult social care support for vulnerable residents.
To not seek funding would also ignore opportunities to attract possibly significant funding for the Housing Revenue Account Capital Budget.
Cabinet AGREED:
1. That the Council enter into an Access Agreement with the GLA as required by the GLA RE:NEW Framework Agreement
2 That the Council commence a mini-competition under and in accordance with the terms of the GLA RE:NEW Framework Agreement to select delivery partners that will access external funding and deliver energy efficiency measures under Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation, and provide energy saving support for Havering residents to approximately 550 Council properties and 900 private residential properties.
3. To delegate authority for approval of individual ECO and/or Green Deal schemes stemming from this process to the Group Director of Children, Adults and Housing.