DMFD258 Facilities Management (FM) soft services provision

1.1.    Report LFC-24-114x sets out the requirement for the provision of soft Facilities Management (FM) services across its estate. This includes cleaning, pest control, security and grounds maintenance. The current contract was tendered using the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) framework and expires on 6 October 2025, having used the two optional 12-month extensions.
1.2.    The soft FM services provision is made up of planned and reactive services. The planned service includes, but is not limited to, routine cleaning; window cleaning; appliance bay floor cleaning; grounds maintenance; preventative pest control across selected premises; and 24-hour security guarding at Merton and Union Street. The reactive service addresses additional requests that are responded to in accordance with defined response times and a contracted schedule of rates.
1.3.    The provision of a building manager and reception services for the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB’s) headquarters was varied into the contract in February 2024. Due to limited internal resources, the decision was made to outsource these services to ensure continuity of service. This outsourcing has provided a consistent and professional service for the LFC, and is proposed to continue within the new contract. This also presented an opportunity to train the outsourced team in the roles of fire coordinator and senior fire warden to support evacuation procedures, alongside delivering improved security training to the guards at reception. 
1.4.    The current contract provides a bundled FM service model that brings the services into one contract with a strategic supplier. A strategic review of performance and outputs from this model has been completed to inform the strategy. It determined that this remains the optimum model for these services. Bringing the services together into one contract across the estate enables optimisation of resources; and creates a streamlined process for LFC staff and building users. Performance across the estate has been consistent; and most key performance indicators (KPIs) have been met. 
1.5.    Additional value has been achieved through the current contract, including tree planting in green spaces across London and the provision of wellbeing gardens. These have been funded by the supplier at no additional cost to the LFC. The new contract will seek to continue this approach and demonstrate added value through supplier partnerships.
1.6.    A specialist consultant has been engaged to support the development of the service specifications, KPIs and the cost model; and compilation of the data room. The consultant will also support the clarification process; and develop the tender evaluation questions, and the tender evaluation model itself. This will ensure that service specifications, KPIs and the cost model are developed in line with industry best practice; are effective; and meet the LFC’s needs.
1.7.    The service specifications will be output-based, and will be accompanied by a detailed service matrix. To inform the development of the service specifications, consultation with key operational stakeholders will be undertaken to ensure the service outputs meet the requirements of staff and building users. This will be carried out via working groups, to enable feedback to be captured and discussion to take place on the scope of the soft FM service, its standards, and how these are measured and reported.
1.8.    DMFD65 gave approval for the LFC to commit expenditure on the current contract.
 

2.1.    The proposed contract term is three years, with the option of two 12-month extensions. The LFC intends to use these two extensions, provided that value-for-money services are being delivered and performance standards are being met. Therefore, approval is requested for the full five-year period. 
2.2.    The following mechanisms will be embedded into the contractual documentation. These focus on effective contract management; outputs; performance; risk; and meeting the needs of the end user. They include, but are not limited to, the following: 
•    Delivering services in accordance with legislative, operational, environmental and sustainability requirements. This includes the British Institute of Cleaning Science, the British Pest Control Association, the Royal Society for Public Health, the National Protective Security Authority and the Security Policy Framework.
•    LFC-tailored service-level agreements (SLAs) and KPIs that do not set the supplier on a route to failure, or enable suppliers to submit risk-based costs beyond London Fire Brigade’s (LFB’s) budgetary constraints. Additional focus will be placed on the SLAs and KPIs for grounds maintenance and pest control, to improve delivery.
•    The specification for services will be fully reviewed and updated to reflect learnings from the current contract; and to ensure all activities are comprehensively addressed. This will include incorporating feedback from consultation with building users and key stakeholders. 
•    An improved and expanded schedule of rates for reactive works will be included. It will set out how those services are costed; and reflect lessons learnt from the current contract. This will ensure value for money is achieved across the scope of services within the contract. 
•    Clear auditing processes, agreed from the outset, to avoid lengthy and disruptive negotiations on mitigations or contractual disputes; and ensure standards are achieved.
•    Transparent and appropriate granular cost make-up, to enable the provision of additional services and variable works in a cost-effective manner. This will be accomplished through task-based costs and an effective schedule of rates, which can be aligned to elements of the service (for example, square-metre rates for deep-cleaning carpets, curtains and blinds through). The rates schedule can be used for more specific services, such additional cleaners, security officers and specialists.
 

3.1.    The LFC and the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service (Deputy Mayor) are required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (section 149 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:
    eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other prohibited conduct
•    advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
•    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:
•    remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic where those disadvantages are connected to that characteristic
•    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
•    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:
•    tackle prejudice 
•    promote understanding.
3.8.    An Equality Impact Assessment form has been completed, and found this work to have a low impact on those with protected characteristics. 
 

Workforce comments
4.1.    Representative bodies have not been formally consulted in the development of this report. This service will replicate the existing provision, so there are no workforce implications. 
Sustainability comments 
4.2.    A Sustainable Development Impact Assessment has been completed and reviewed by LFB’s Sustainable Development Team. This team is engaged with sustainability and responsible procurement within the full specification of the contract dispatch date.
Procurement comments 
4.3.    The procurement process will be led by the LFC’s Procurement department. The tender will be conducted in accordance with the LFC Scheme of Governance; and in compliance with either the Public Contracts Regulation 2015 or the Procurement Act 2023 (which comes into effect in February 2025), depending on which set of legislation is in force at the time of the tender. 
4.4.    The tender will be issued on the LFC tendering platform, ‘In-Tend’. 
4.5.    The tender will be awarded to the tenderer who is determined to have demonstrated the most economically advantageous tender through the procurement process.
4.6.    A detailed analysis and assessment of the preferred procurement route was carried out in the form of a procurement strategy. This was developed by the Procurement Team, in conjunction with the Head of FM and the Senior Contracts Manager within the FM and Minor Works Department. The recommended route to market is via the CCS Framework, which benefits from having a range of market-leading suppliers on its work package for the provision of soft FM services. 
4.7.    The CCS Framework is a public procurement organisation. It enables tendering organisations to tailor the contractual documentation, including social value commitments, to meet its needs. In addition, all suppliers under the CCS Framework have committed to comply with the procurement policy of taking account of carbon reduction plans in the procurement of government contracts.
Conflicts of interest 
4.8.    There are no conflicts of interest to declare from those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision.
 

5.1.    This report seeks approval to commit expenditure as set out in Part 2 of this decision to procure soft FM services for the LFC’s estate. 
5.2.    The financial implications are set out in the Part 2 decision.
 

6.1.    This report seeks approval to commit expenditure of money as set out in Part 2 of this decision to procure soft facility management services for the LFC’s estate. 
6.2.    Under section 9 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the LFC is established as a corporation sole with the Mayor appointing the occupant of that office.
6.3.    Section 327D of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, as amended, the Mayor may issue to the LFC specific or general directions as to the manner in which the holder of that office is to exercise his or her functions.
6.4.    By direction dated 1 April 2018, the Mayor set out those matters for which the LFC would require the prior approval of either the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor. In particular, paragraph (b) of Part 2 of that direction requires the LFC to seek the prior approval of the Deputy Mayor before “[a] commitment to expenditure (capital or revenue) of £150,000 or above is identified in accordance with normal accounting practices”. The proposed expenditure exceeds this financial threshold; accordingly, prior approval from the Deputy Mayor will be required. 
6.5.    The report confirms the proposed contract for soft facility management services will be procured in accordance with procurement legislation. 
6.6.    These comments have been adopted from those provided by the LFC’s General Counsel department in report LFC-24-114x to the LFC.
 

Appendix 1 – LFC-24-114x – FM Soft Services Provision – Part One