Scope
Description
Overview of Procurement Objectives
Portsmouth City Council (the Council) is seeking to appoint a contractor to deliver Fire Compliance Services across its housing stock, with an estimated annual value of between £500K and £1M. The contract will be let for an initial 5-year term, with the option to extend by up to a further 5 years in intervals to be agreed.
The scope of services will include statutory fire risk assessments, installation and maintenance of fire detection and prevention systems, inspection and servicing of fire doors and alarms, and ensuring ongoing compliance with all relevant fire safety legislation and guidance.
Based on anticipated inflationary uplifts, regulatory requirements, and potential growth in housing stock, the total individual contract spends over the potential 10-year term (5-year base with options to extend) is expected to range between £6M to £11M. The impacts of Local Government Review have not been considered in this current value and the likely increases in the total value of the opportunity, brought about through the reform, will be addressed when the formal tender notice is issued.
Housing Stock Information
The Council has a housing stock of approximately 17,500 properties of which approximately 15,500 are socially rented and then there are approximately 2000 leasehold properties. Within the stock there is a mix of housing types including houses and bungalows; however the majority of the dwellings are within purpose-built blocks of flats constructed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Traditionally the estate has been spread across the two geographical areas of Portsea Island (on-island, PO1 to PO5) and Paulsgrove and Havant (off-island, PO6 to PO9).
A recent acquisition of approximately 800 properties has however subsequently increased the 'off-island' area to sites in Gosport, Fareham and Winchester.
Changing Context and Objectives
Over the next 5-10 years the Council is expecting to experience a number of challenges with regards to the maintenance of its housing and general fund properties with any incumbent provider to work in partnership with the Council to ease pressures where they can.
Significant changes in legislation such as the Building Safety Act and Fire Safety Act will require greater scrutiny from suppliers to ensure they are working in a compliant way and may require them to adopt new skills such as undertaking works as a result of Building Safety Cases for buildings of 6+ storeys.
There will be more focus on the accuracy and timely manner of up-load of compliance information and ensuring repairs, particularly around damp and mould are well managed and resolved and will be monitored by the Social Housing Regulator.
Local Government Review
As part of the wider Local Government Review (LGR), the Council is required to actively engage in discussions with neighbouring authorities to explore potential opportunities for collaboration, shared service delivery, and governance alignment. While this engagement is ongoing, no formal decisions or agreements have been reached at this stage.
Under current LGR proposals, it is likely to require Portsmouth City Council to form a new Authority by merging with other neighbouring Authorities. For Portsmouth, this will result in a new Council being created to provide the same services to everyone in the city, whilst covering a larger area and have a different name. Effectively all the current council services in the area of the new council boundary would be merged to create a new Council.
In light of the ongoing LGR, any future procurement will be designed to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of scope, value, and geographical area. This flexibility is crucial to accommodate the evolving needs and structures of local authorities.
Any tender opportunities and contracts will be structured to allow adjustments in the scope of services and the value of contracts to the Council to respond to changes in demand and budgetary constraints, whilst ensuring that services remain efficient and continue to provide value for money. Additionally, provisions will be included to adapt to changes in geographical boundaries resulting from any reorganisation. This will ensure that services can be extended or retracted to align with new administrative areas.
In the event of reorganisation, contracts will include clauses that allow for the assignment of the contract to successor authorities. Any assignment clause is likely to state any contract may be assigned to any new authority that succeeds the original contracting authority.
For further details in respect of LGR see the following link -
Anticipated Demand & Contracting Strategy
The Fire Compliance contract is a new addition to the previous Repairs & Maintenance (R&M) and Gas Servicing & Repairs contracts, which has been created in response to changing legislative requirements and the need for greater reporting around compliance activities.
The existing compliance activity is split between the Councils current R&M on and off island contractors and the commercial M&E contractor. The intention is to consolidate these fire activities under a single contract.
The works will be spread across the 1155 block of residential flats, 550 Corporate Assets and 80 non-HRA buildings and will be run under and NEC 4 Option A Priced Activity contract with a base term of 5 year and the option to extend for a further 5 years in agreed increments. The Council are estimating a contract value in the region of £500k-£1m per annum.
Core Scope of Works
The core scope of works will include but not limited to:
• Fire Alarm Testing and Repair
• Lightening Conductor Testing and Repair
• Visual Fire Door Checks
• Sprinkler Testing and Repair
• Fire Damper Testing and Repair
• Fire Extinguishers
• Fire Stopping
• Dry and Wet Riser Testing and Repair
• Smoke Vents
• Evacuation Alert
• Out of Hours
Ancillary Scope of Works
The contract may also require the following to covered or taken forward and will include but not limited to:
• Intruder Alarm Testing and Repair
• PAT Testing
• Powered Doors
Partnership Working
In addition to working in close partnership with the council, the supplier will also be required to work in partnership with the council's other existing term service contractor partners.
Social Value
The Council are committed to continuously reviewing and improving the approach to social value delivery, and suppliers can find further information using the following link -
https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/social-value/
Total value (estimated)
- £11,000,000 excluding VAT
- £13,200,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2031
- Possible extension to 31 May 2036
- 10 years
Description of possible extension:
The contract will be let for an initial 5-year term, with the option to extend by up to a further 5 years in intervals to be agreed.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 45311000 - Electrical wiring and fitting work
- 45312100 - Fire-alarm system installation work
- 45312310 - Lightning-protection works
- 45312311 - Lightning-conductor installation work
- 45315100 - Electrical engineering installation works
- 45315300 - Electricity supply installations
- 45315400 - High voltage installation work
- 45315500 - Medium-voltage installation work
- 45315600 - Low-voltage installation work
- 45324000 - Plasterboard works
- 45343100 - Fireproofing work
- 45343200 - Firefighting equipment installation work
- 45343210 - CO2 fire-extinguishing equipment installation work
- 45343220 - Fire-extinguishers installation work
- 45343230 - Sprinkler systems installation work
- 45351000 - Mechanical engineering installation works
- 45410000 - Plastering work
- 45420000 - Joinery and carpentry installation work
- 45430000 - Floor and wall covering work
- 45440000 - Painting and glazing work
- 50710000 - Repair and maintenance services of electrical and mechanical building installations
Contract locations
- UKJ31 - Portsmouth
- UKJ35 - South Hampshire
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
To be confirmed within the tender notice.
Technical ability conditions of participation
To be confirmed within the tender notice.
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
25 August 2025
Enquiry deadline
20 September 2025, 4:00pm
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
27 September 2025, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Suppliers to be invited to tender
4 to 6 suppliers
Selection criteria:
To be confirmed within the tender notice.
Award decision date (estimated)
2 March 2026
Recurring procurement
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 26 August 2030
Other information
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
Market Testing
Portsmouth City Council (the 'Council') undertook two Soft Market Testing (SMT) exercises as part of a strategic review of delivery options for the provision of Repairs & Maintenance (R&M) across residential and commercial properties, Gas Servicing & Repairs (GSR) for residential properties and Fire Safety Compliance Services (FSCS) across its managed building assets.
Two separate Prior Information Notices were issued, being -
• SMT 1 - Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services - Repairs & Maintenance and Gas Servicing & Repair Delivery Options Appraisal, Portsmouth- Wednesday 9th October 2024 - Reference - 2024/S 000-032496
• SMT 2 - Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services - Repairs & Maintenance, Gas Servicing & Repair and Fire Safety Compliance Services Delivery Lotting Options Appraisal 2025 - Friday 23rd February 2025- Reference 2025/S 000-006741
The Council's main aim in undertaking SMT 1 was to understand the market's interest, capacity, capability, and ideas for delivering these services and inform an options appraisal which considered in-sourced, out-sourced and other alternative delivery options appraisal.
The subsequent options appraisal report submitted on 19th February 2025 to the Cabinet Member for Housing & Tackling Homelessness recommended continuation of outsourcing delivery and requested the following -
• Delegated authority to the Director of Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services (HNB) to determine
o the lotting strategy
o contractual arrangements
o individual contract durations be for a minimum of five years, with the option to extend for up to 5 years subject to contractor performance
o commencement of a procurement exercise to re-tender the R&M and GSR contracts
o ability to proceed with the contract award and enter into contract with the preferred bidders
• Review the R&M contract Scope of Service with Cabinet member for approval
• Duty to consult and engage Portsmouth Homes (council housing service) tenants, leaseholders and shared owners
• Update the Cabinet member, housing opposition portfolio members and the Residents Consortium, at the key procurement milestones.
All recommendations and requested delegations were approved. For full details of the Council's formal report and associated appendices can be found using the following link -
https://democracy.portsmouth.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=31340&PlanId=0&Opt=3#AI25498
A subsequent round of SMT was undertaken (SMT2) primarily to inform and refine the proposed lotting strategy, scope and contracting models. The following lotting structure, which included for combined bid options, were investigated with the market -
• Lot 1 - R&M On-Island (Lot1A) and R&M Off-Island (Lot 1B) (this is one lot with two separate contract awards to different suppliers) - estimated annual value from £14M to £18M per supplier, total value both suppliers of around £36M
• Lot 2 - R&M Corporate Assets - estimated annual value from £400k to £600k
• Lot 3 - GSR - estimated annual value from £4M to £5M
• Lot 4 - FSCS - estimated annual value from £500k to £1M
Following analysis of supplier feedback and a review of the risks and benefits, the Council now intends to proceed with separate staggered procurement processes on individual programmes for the following service areas:
• Gas Servicing & Repairs
• Fire Safety Compliance Services
• Repairs & Maintenance*
*The proposed Corporate Assets R&M is likely to be combined into the R&M opportunity.
By tendering these services separately, the Council aims to:
• Maximise market engagement, particularly among SMEs and specialist contractors
• Allow suppliers to bid for the areas most aligned with their expertise and capacity
• Support higher service quality and compliance through focused delivery
• Maximise financial benefits through direct contracting with specialist suppliers for high volume/value requirements
• Align with the Council's strategic priorities around value for money, local economic support, and effective service delivery
Feedback from suppliers indicates increased interest in tendering for these contracts separately rather than on a combined basis. There appears to be a larger market of suppliers who are capable of tendering for these contracts on an individual basis, compared to relatively few suppliers who are interested in delivering against multiple contracts who have direct delivery capacity and required level of experience.
Following completion of the SMT processes, the Council has produced summary reports that can be found as appendix 1 & 2, which can be found under the documents section of this notice.
The Council now intends to undertake procurement process for the three main service areas inline with the following summary programmes -
• Gas Servicing & Repairs
o Issue Tender Notice - May/June 2025
o Contract Award - November 2025
o Contract Start - April 2026
• Fire Safety Compliance Services
o Issue Tender Notice -August/September 2025
o Contract Award - January 2026
o Contract Start - June 2026
• Repairs & Maintenance
o Tender - May/June 2026
o Contract Award - November 2026
o Contract Start - April 2027
For further details of the outline programmes see the relevant Planned Procurement Notices-
GSR - PPN - 2025-000023
FSCS - PPN - 2025-000026
R&M - PPN - 2025-000027
The Council will publish the GSR and R&M contacts using a Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP), which will encompass the utilisation of conditions of participation stage to create a shortlist of suppliers. The FSCS contract is also likely to be procured under a CFP, though the Council will review the option of using the Open Procedure before publishing the tender notice.
FSCS - CFP Design
The Council will run this procurement using the Competitive Flexible Procedures, which will be akin to the Restrictive Procedure under the Public Contracts Regulations (2015), with two separate stages -
Stage 1 - Initial Selection
This stage focuses on shortlisting suppliers that meet the necessary technical, financial, and operational capabilities required for the contract. It aims to reduce the number of bidders to a manageable level through consideration of current experience, capacity, systems, accreditations, financial standing, legal standing, etc.
The Council envisages the shortlisting process will have 4 to 6 suppliers.
Stage 2 - Invitation to Tender (ITT)
The second stage, shortlisted suppliers are invited to submit detailed proposals, including price, delivery methodology, and any specific solutions they propose.
The council may also consider the use of interviews and site visits, on a verification and due diligence basis. The procurement process will also consider the viewpoint of residents at every stage including for development of requirements and assessment of resident engagement proposals.
The Council are intending to follow the subsequent Procurement Programme -
FTS & Tender Notice issued - Monday 25th August 2025
Tender issued and procurement documents published on Intend - CFP Stage 1 - Monday 25th August 2025
Deadline for requests for clarification - Friday 20th September 2025 by 16:00
CFP Stage 1 submission deadline - Friday 27th September 2025 by 12:00
Notification of shortlisting decision - Friday 24th October 2025
Final procurement documents published on Intend - CFP Stage 2 - Friday 31st October 2026
Deadline for requests for clarification - Friday 6th December 2025 by 16:00
Tender return deadline - Friday 19th December 2025 by 12:00
Contract Award Notice Published - Friday 24th January 2026
Standstill and section 20 notification start - Monday 26th January 2026
Standstill finish - Wednesday 4th February 2026
Section 20 Notice Finish - Friday 28th February 2026
Contract award - Monday 2nd March 2026
Contract commencement - Monday 1st June 2026
Documents
Associated tender documents
Soft Market Testing Reports.zip
SMT Survey Responses in relation to the following Prior Information Notices -
• SMT 1 - Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services - Repairs & Maintenance and Gas Servicing & Repair Delivery Options Appraisal, Portsmouth- Wednesday 9th October 2024 - Reference - 2024/S 000-032496
• SMT 2 - Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services - Repairs & Maintenance, Gas Servicing & Repair and Fire Safety Compliance Services Delivery Lotting Options Appraisal 2025 - Friday 23rd February 2025- Reference 2025/S 000-006741
SMT Briefing 2 - R&M, Gas & associated lots 2025 v2.0.zip
Supporting information for SMT 2 - including the background information regarding the proposed lotting structure, example questionnaire and attached appendices.
Contracting authority
Portsmouth City Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PCNL-5714-PRZV
Civic Offices, Guildhall Square
Portsmouth
PO1 2AL
United Kingdom
Region: UKJ31 - Portsmouth
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government