DMFD118 Replacement of Audio-visual Equipment

1.1 Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience Decision (DMFD) 85 approved expenditure of £735,000 on the procurement and maintenance of new audio visual (AV) equipment at London Fire Brigade (LFB) fire stations.

1.2 The procurement of fire station AV equipment is live, but not yet complete. Subsequent to agreeing DMFD85, LFB have determined that its headquarters building at Union Street should be included in the programme. The total costs of the programme would increase to £945,000 in total, necessitating a request for a renewed approval for the proposed increase in expenditure. This decision would therefore supersede DMFD85.

1.3 Further information on the programme to upgrade LFB’s AV equipment is provided in DMFD85, which is attached at Appendix 1.

2.1 As set out in DMFD85, this programme to replace AV equipment at fire stations will enable LFB to introduce modern AV equipment on its estate, with the ability to make the best use of new technology, including the collaboration opportunities offered by products such as Microsoft Teams, delivered as part of Microsoft 365 within the Brigade’s Modern Workplace Programme.

2.2 The proposed inclusion of Union Street in the programme is part of the wider transformation of Union Street as a workplace. In particular, it will enable staff returning to work in headquarters as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted or eased to collaborate with colleagues working remotely. It is proposed that 21 meeting rooms at Union Street will be fitted with new AV equipment.

Costs

2.3 The original cost of the programme, as agreed in DMFD85, was £735,000 in total. This consisted of:

• £500,000 for the procurement of new AV equipment for fire stations

• £235,000 for an ongoing contract for maintenance of the AV equipment for up to five years. This contract would have an initial three-year term, with an optional two-year extension.

2.4 In light of the addition of Union Street to the programme, the revised anticipated total cost is £945,000. This consists of:

• £630,000 for the procurement of new AV equipment for fire stations and Union Street

• £315,000 for an ongoing contract for maintenance of the AV equipment for up to five years. This contract would have an initial three-year term, with an optional two-year extension.

Collaboration

2.5 Under the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the LFC has a duty to keep collaboration opportunities (with police and ambulance services) under review and, where it is in the interests of efficiency or effectiveness, to put those collaboration opportunities into practice. As referred to in the introduction to this paper, colleagues in procurement are currently examining a number of collaborative frameworks right across the public sector.

2.6 Use of the TfL ICT Resellers Framework was considered, and contact has also been made with the GLA Collaborative Procurement Team to seek interest from other functional bodies who may have a similar requirement. They have confirmed that there are no collaborative agreements available for LFC to utilise and no interest in collaborating has been received from other functional bodies.

2.7 Other potential collaborative procurement routes that have been identified to date are the use of the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Technology Products & Associated Services Framework (TePAS), the NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP) Information Management & Technology (IM&T) Framework, and the Pan London ICT Framework (Lot 4) that was tendered by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea on behalf of the London Public Sector as a collaborative framework.

2.8 Technology Products & Associated Services (TePAS) offers public sector buyers a flexible and compliant way to source all their technology product needs. This is the first iteration of the Technology Products framework to have associated services in its scope. 60.98% of the suppliers on this framework are a SME. The UK public sector and their associated bodies and agencies, including the voluntary sector and charities, can use this framework.

2.9 LPP has established the Information, Management & Technology (IM&T) Framework which consists of suitably experienced, capable, qualified and resourced suppliers available for use by NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, GP services and other health and social care providers within the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, as well as local authorities and third sector organisations. The purpose of the framework is to provide a compliant route to market for each of the initiatives.

2.10 The Pan London ICT Framework (Lot 4) was tendered by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea on behalf of the London public sector. The aim of the framework is to deliver best value to London’s public sector through a catalogue price structure, faster cost-effective procurement process and flexibility. The framework offers a catalogue of services by BT which is supported by several the market leading IT/communications vendors. This framework has offered an alternative route to market when there has not been a collaborative opportunity available via the GLA, or a suitable CCS framework. The framework also allows for a tender exercise to be carried out. Formal benchmarking is regularly undertaken by an external company against a minimum of eight top quartile peers and an overall ‘value for money’ rating has been awarded.

2.11 Following advice from Procurement a decision was taken to utilise the NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP) Information Management & Technology (IM&T) Framework, and the Pan London ICT Framework (Lot 4). These frameworks offered the best value from a commercial perspective as well as the broadest range of suppliers.

3.1 The London Fire Commissioner and the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience are required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (s149 of the Equality Act 2010) when taking decisions. This in broad terms involves understanding the potential impact of policy and decisions on different people, taking this into account and then evidencing how decisions were reached.

3.2 It is important to note that consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty is not a one-off task. The duty must be fulfilled before taking a decision, at the time of taking a decision, and after the decision has been taken.

3.3 The protected characteristics are: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Pregnancy and maternity, Marriage and civil partnership (but only in respect of the requirements to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination), Race (ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality), Religion or belief (including lack of belief), Sex, and Sexual orientation.

3.4 The Public Sector Equality Duty requires decision-takers in the exercise of all their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other prohibited conduct

(b) advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

(c) foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

3.5 Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to:

(a) remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic where those disadvantages are connected to that characteristic

(b) take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it

(c) encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.

3.6 The steps involved in meeting the needs of disabled persons that are different from the needs of persons who are not disabled include, in particular, steps to take account of disabled persons' disabilities.

3.7 Having due regard to the need to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to:

(a) tackle prejudice

(b) promote understanding.

3.8 An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was undertaken on 13 April 2020.

3.9 The impact assessment found outline positive impacts identified for those with disabilities, whereby the provision of enhanced visual and audio capability was thought to be of particular benefit to this group.

Workforce comments

4.1 There is no planned workforce consultation.

Sustainability implications

4.2 Any new procurement activity will need to be undertaken in line with the GLA Group Responsible Procurement policy. As part of delivery of this policy, the Greater London Authority has affiliated with Electronics Watch, which requires the inclusion of additional terms and conditions for contracts with significant hardware purchases. The terms aim to improve the transparency of the supply chain and management of any non-compliance with labour standards identified with the support of Electronics Watch. Where hardware replacement of considerable value forms part of the requirement for any of the options proposed, additional terms covering ethical sourcing will need to be included in the tender or re-negotiation.

5.1 This Decision requests approval for capital expenditure to replace the existing AV equipment at fire stations and Union Street with a modern AV solution. Approval is sought for expenditure of up to £630,000, based on an estimated cost of £500,000 for equipment at fire stations and £130,000 for Union Street. This expenditure is expected to be incurred in 2021/22.

5.2 The existing capital programme includes a budget for AV equipment at fire stations of £500,000 and £220,000 for Union Street, from which the new AV equipment will be funded. If the £630,000 cost is funded through borrowing this will result in capital financing costs of £145,000 annually, including £126,000 minimum revenue provision for the repayment of principal and £19,000 in interest payments per annum based on an interest rate of 3% and a useful life of five years. The financial impact of these capital financing costs are included within the revenue estimates as set out in the LFC’s 2021/22 Budget report.

5.3 The report also notes that there will be an ongoing supplier contract for a period of five years at an estimated cost of £315,000, £235,000 for fire station and £80,000 for Union Street, (for the 5-year period), which will be contained within existing ICT revenue budgets.

5.4 There are no additional financial implications for the GLA.

6.1 Under section 9 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the London Fire Commissioner (the "Commissioner") is established as a corporation sole with the Mayor appointing the occupant of that office. Under section 327D of the GLA Act 1999, as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the Mayor may issue to the Commissioner specific or general directions as to the manner in which the holder of that office is to exercise his or her functions.

6.2 By direction dated 1 April 2018, the Mayor set out those matters, for which the Commissioner would require the prior approval of either the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience (the "Deputy Mayor").

6.3 Paragraph (b) of Part 2 of the said direction requires the Commissioner to seek the prior approval of the Deputy Mayor before “[a] commitment to expenditure (capital or revenue) of £150,000 or above as identified in accordance with normal accounting practices…”.

6.4 The decision to re- procure for the replacement of AV equipment as set out in the recommendation of this report far exceeds this value, therefore, this report to the Deputy Mayor fulfils the aforementioned requirement in the direction.

6.5 The Brigade’s General Counsel also notes that the proposed procurement route for the replacement of AV equipment is in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and LFC standing orders.

6.6 The statutory basis for the actions proposed in this report is provided by section 7 (2)(a) of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 under which the Commissioner must secure the provision of personnel, services and equipment necessary to efficiently meet all normal requirements for firefighting. Furthermore under 7 (2)(b) of the aforementioned act the Commissioner must secure the provision of training for personnel.

• Appendix 1 – DMFD85 Replacement of Audio-visual equipment at fire stations
• Appendix 2 Report LFC-0527y – Replacement of Audio-visual Equipment at Fire Stations & Union Street