Scope
Description
Portsmouth City Council (the Council) is looking to appoint a supplier to deliver Water Hygiene services across its housing and corporate stock, with an estimated annual value of approximately £200k. 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 the service will include statutory water safety inspections, monitoring, and sampling, ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations and maintaining the safety and functionality of the Council's water installations. This is a re-procurement of an existing service provision.
Background information
Following cabinet approval and undergoing a formal options appraisal Building Services is required to undertake a procurement exercise for the provision of water hygiene testing and maintenance across its managed building assets.
The options appraisal report submitted on 19th February 2025 to the Cabinet Member for Housing & Tackling Homelessness recommended continuation of outsourcing delivery
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
Within the option appraisal it was determined the future gas servicing contract should solely focus on gas and remove the water hygiene workstream to improve the competitiveness within gas contracts for that workstream. Consequently, the water hygiene contract is to be tendered as a standalone contract, which will also allow it to be managed by the Council's water hygiene specialist.
The Council is responsible for managing a portfolio of properties that require regular monitoring, testing and disinfection to ensure safety, compliance, and cleanliness to prevent the risk of legionella. The contract that support these services are due to expire and needs to be reprocured to ensure business continuity.
The scope of services will include statutory water hygiene inspections, shower head descaling and TMV servicing, ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations and maintaining the safety and functionality of the Council's water installations.
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.
Within the contract there will be a requirement to monitor approximately 50 of the blocks of flats within the Council's stock, which will mostly be on-island, however, there will be infrequent inspections to the off-island stock as well.
Corporate Assets
The Council is also responsible for approximately 550 corporate assets including buildings such as schools, sports pavilions, care homes and offices; the majority of which are located on-island. There are currently 150 corporate assets that require inspections.
Current & Future Demand
The demand fluctuates annually and is highly dependent upon the number of schools that access the Council's Service Level Agreements (SLA) within the Corporate assets, however, risk assessments within the residential assets are generally stable.
Over the last 12 months approximately 135 risk assessments were undertaken across both asset types. It is anticipated that over the next 24 months this will remain within a +/- range of 15%
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 corporate assets with any incumbent Supplier 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 particularly when working in buildings of 6+ storeys.
There will be more focus on the accuracy and timely manner of up-load of compliance information and ensuring Legionella Risk Assessments are well managed and resolved and will be monitored by the Social Housing Regulator.
Scope and Specification
The core scope of works, which the successful supplier will be required to deliver are -
• Legionella Risk Assessments
• TMV servicing
• Temperature monitoring
• Clean and descale of shower heads
• Inspection of tanks, calorifiers, etc
• Sampling
Ancillary Scope of Works
The ancillary scope of works, which the successful supplier may be required to deliver, namely:
• Removal of dead legs
• Installation and replacement of valves and TMV
• Repairs to tanks and systems
• Ancillary plumbing in connection with water hygiene
For clarity the contract will focus on monitoring and inspection. However, infrequently the contractor may be required to assist with repairs where it is appropriate to do so.
The Specification has been designed to ensure that all Suppliers have an effective and equal understanding of the contract's functional and performance requirements.
The Council reserves the right to make amendments to the specification if deemed necessary during the clarification stage.
Contract Model
The council intends to award a single M3NHF Schedule of Rates term contract.
Payments will be made in accordance with monthly valuations of completed works.
Contract value
The Council are estimating the contract value will be in the region of £200k per annum.
Based on anticipated inflationary uplifts and potential growth in stock, and the potential impact of LGR the total individual contract spend over the potential 10-year term (5-year base with options to extend) is expected to range between £2m to £3.7m.
Contract duration
The contract term will be for 5 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 10 years.
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/
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.
At this stage, the Council can only confirm its current demand and scope of requirements; however, this may be subject to change should additional needs arise from other local authorities as part of wider structural reforms.
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.
The impacts of Local Government Review cannot be fully understood at this stage. However, when considering the potential surrounding local authorities and their current property portfolios, the Council anticipate the annual value of the contract could increase in the region of £100k per year, in the event these services needed to be subsumed into this opportunity. Therefore, taking this into account the potential value stated in the total value of the opportunity over the 10-year period could be up to £3.7M.
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 -
Total value (estimated)
- £3,700,000 excluding VAT
- £4,440,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031
- Possible extension to 31 March 2036
- 10 years
Description of possible extension:
The contract will be awarded for an initial term of five years thereafter the council will have the option to extend the term by a period(s) of up to a maximum of five years.
Any period(s) of extension will be at the council's sole discretion. The maximum allowable term is 10 years.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 90711500 - Environmental monitoring other than for construction
Contract locations
- UKJ31 - Portsmouth
- UKJ34 - Isle of Wight
- UKJ35 - South Hampshire
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the invitation to tender.
Technical ability conditions of participation
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the invitation to tender.
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
17 October 2025, 4:00pm
Submission type
Tenders
Tender submission deadline
27 October 2025, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
The Council will publish the associated tender documents via Intend, the Councils e-tendering platform.
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
2 December 2025
Recurring procurement
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 16 September 2030
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schedule of Rates amendments | Cost | 60% | |
| Mobilisation | Cost | 8% | |
| Mobilisation | The total quality score is assessed out of 30%. The sub-weighting for this question is 25%. Therefore, the percentage weighting below is 25% of the total of 30% - 7.5%. |
Quality | 7.5% |
| IT Systems Technology and Workflow Capabilities | The total quality score is assessed out of 30%. The sub-weighting for this question is 25%. Therefore the percentage weighting below is 25% of the total of 30% - 7.5%. |
Quality | 7.5% |
| Resource Structure | The total quality score is assessed out of 30%. The sub-weighting for this question is 20%. Therefore the percentage weighting below is 20% of the total of 30% - 6%. |
Quality | 6% |
| Processes | The total quality score is assessed out of 30%. The sub-weighting for this question is 15%. Therefore the percentage weighting below is 15% of the total of 30% - 4.5%. |
Quality | 4.5% |
| Social Value | The total quality score is assessed out of 30%. The sub-weighting for this question is 15%. Therefore the percentage weighting below is 15% of the total of 30% - 4.5%. However, the percentage on the... |
Quality | 4.49% |
| Hourly rates | Cost | 2% | |
| Value for Money | The is assessed on a pass/fail basis. However, a weighting of 0.01 has been added on the notice as the system does not allow a 0 to be entered. |
Quality | 0.01% |
Other information
Description of risks to contract performance
Known Risks
The Council has identified the following known risks that are likely to occur during the duration of the term of the contract -
• An increase in stock size due to the construction of new build sites or the purchase of additional existing dwellings
• A decrease in stock size due to the sale or decommissioning of existing dwellings (to include any age of boiler)
• An increase in stock size as additional buildings sign up to existing SLAs
• A decrease in stock size as buildings no longer want to utilise existing SLAs
• Increased complexity due to -
o ageing stock requiring more frequent or complex repairs
o increase in the number of boiler replacements needed
o inclusion of other heating systems
Other Risks
• Local Government Reorganisation leads to other stock holding Authorities becoming amalgamated with the Council and consequently the contract acquires additional stock numbers, increasing the value of the opportunity. (Based on the SOR's)
• Local Government Reorganisation leads to the Council becoming amalgamated with other Local Authorities and the contract or stock is novated to an alternative contract or supplier, decreasing the value of the opportunity. (using the novation clause)
• KPIs reduce relevance or are found to be ineffective during the contract, potentially following changes in legislation and compliance monitoring, and need to be amended.
• Workstreams are added to provide contingency for other suppliers particularly in relation to repairing remedial actions identified increasing the size and value of the contract. (using the SORs)
• The ongoing costs in delivering the service increases due to larger than predicted inflationary pressures, labour shortages or skills gaps. Impacts of technological change in respect of unknown future standards or innovations - periodic review clause to allow to utilise new technology, mobilisation and purchase of new technology
• Following the acquisition of additional stock, higher than expected costs to bring dwellings to required standards following unknown conditions/unexpected issues that the Council could not have reasonably been aware at the point of purchase.
• Amendment or introduction of new legislation or changes in building safety legislation, could increase/decrease the cost in delivering the service.
-An endemic or pandemic event such as Covid 19 requires the contractor to achieve contractual outcomes by adapting existing practices.
The Council has identified the risks above associated with the delivery of this contract. In accordance with Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council reserves the right to modify the contract, without initiating a new procurement procedure, should any of these known risks materialise during the contract term.
Any such modification will be limited to addressing the consequences of the known risk and will not alter the overall nature of the contract. Where applicable, a Contract Change Notice will be published in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
Portsmouth City Council ('the council') is inviting tenders from suitably qualified Suppliers to provide a Water Hygiene Compliance service.
The council is using a single stage competitive flexible procedure for the procurement of this contract, which includes conditions of participation and detailed tender proposals to be submitted at the same time.
Preliminary Market Engagement
An options appraisal was presented to the portfolio holder for Housing and Tackling Homelessness, during which it was agreed that the water hygiene servicing works should be separated from the gas servicing contract.
As part of its preliminary market engagement, the Council undertook a review of existing public sector framework agreements for water hygiene services. While these frameworks offer compliant routes to market, they were found to be unsuitable for the Council's specific requirements.
The Council is keen to encourage broader market participation, including local and SME providers who may not be represented on national frameworks. A bespoke tender exercise allows for greater competition and the opportunity to explore innovative approaches to service delivery, which may not be achievable under the constraints of a framework.
As a result, the Council has opted to undertake a Competitive Flexible Procedure to ensure the procurement process is aligned with its strategic objectives and delivers best value.
Central Digital Platform
Suppliers are required to register on the Central Digital Platform, and upload and/or check that their core Supplier information on the Central Digital Platform relating to their company information, Mandatory and Discretionary Exclusions, Connected Persons, and economic and financial standing is all up to date and accurate at the point of submitting both a Tender Response. Where relevant, Suppliers will also need to provide information concerning Associated Persons and intended Sub-contractors
Should there be any inconsistency between this information and the information as submitted in response to this Procurement, the Supplier will need to provide evidence as to the accuracy of their submission and failure to do so could result in the Supplier being excluded for Improper Behaviour.
Guidance on accessing the Central Digital Platform can be found here -
Tender evaluation principles
The evaluation of responses takes place in two stages:
• Evaluation of exclusion grounds and conditions of participation takes place first. Only when a Supplier has satisfied these minimum requirements within the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) will evaluation proceed to the next stage.
• Evaluation of award criteria takes place second and comprises evaluation of the responses to the Quality Assessment Questions (QAQ) and Pricing.
Minimum requirements
The PSQ Preliminary Questions focus on the following sections that will be assessed on a pass/fail basis -
1. Supplier information
2. Grounds for exclusion
3. Relevant experience and contract examples
4. Financial capacity
5. Insurance
6. GDPR/ Data Protection
7. Health and Safety
8. Accreditations
9. Payments in contracts (information only)
10. Tackling Modern slavery (information only)
As part of the evaluation of technical and professional ability Suppliers are asked to demonstrate that they have a proven track record of delivering the council's requirements. This will involve providing descriptions of contract examples with accompanying references from the Suppliers' customers.
Suppliers are required to provide details of at least one contract case study to demonstrate experience of Microbial Growth and Similar Contract Experience. Additionally, suppliers will be required to provide examples of a Legionella Risk Assessment (LRA) carried out with at least one LRA for a commercial, non-domestic building and one LRA for a block of flats with communal areas.
Suppliers are allowed to use one case study to cover the requirements or a supplier can use two separate case studies to demonstrate compliance with the experience requirements.
Where this procurement is for goods or services, the examples must be from the past three years. Any contract case studies and example reports more than three years will be discounted and result in a fail.
Any supplier who does not meet the minimum requirements in the preliminary questions, will be excluded as not meeting the conditions of participation, and their submission will not be assessed any further.
Award criteria
Where a Supplier has satisfied the minimum requirements within the PSQ, their responses to the Quality Assessment Questions (QAQ) will then be evaluated against the following award criteria:
• Price 70%
• Quality 30% and pass/fail criteria
For details of the breakdown of how the Price and Quality are to be assessed see Award Criteria of this notice. The pricing will be assessed on a normalised basis, whilst the quality responses will be assessed on a weighted rate basis or pass/fail.
For a breakdown of the specific criteria to be used to evaluate a suppliers quality assessment question submission, suppliers should refer to Quality Assessment Question scoring matrices and refer to the Single Stage Competitive Flexible Procedure - Conditions of Participation and Invitation to Tender included in the tender pack available via the Council's e-tendering platform Intend.
Optional Supplier Site Visits
Following completion of the initial tender evaluation and moderation, the Council reserve the right to undertake site visits with up to the top three Suppliers, for verification purposes only.
The Council will contact suppliers and look to arrange site visits in the event site visits interviews are required.
Suppliers will need to make key delivery staff outlined within their tender proposal available to the Councils evaluation team. The Council will provide an agenda of items to be reviewed as part of the site visit to allow suppliers time to prepare.
The Council will be using the site visit as a means to verify details contained within a suppliers tender submission i.e. reviewing data management system, call handling process/sites etc. These visits are for verification purposes only and will not constitute negotiation
The Council may adjust evaluation scores where the findings of the site visit materially contradict or undermine the claims made in the submission.
Furthermore, where a site visit reveals material misrepresentation, non-compliance, or improper conduct, the Council reserves the right to set aside the bid in its entirety.
Should the Council identify clear discrepancies within a suppliers submission on more than one of the quality assessment criteria, the Council reserves the right to set the submission aside in its entirety.
Access to tender document and programme programme
The Council will administrate the procurement using its e-sourcing system In-Tend, which will be used for:
• Access to and issue of procurement information and documentation
• Pre-tender submission clarification requests and response
• Tender submission
• Tender opening and access to responses
• Post tender submission clarification requests and response
• Award decision notification and feedback
The In-Tend system can be accessed free of charge via the following web link:
https://intendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home
The Council are intending to follow the subsequent Procurement Programme -
Contract notice published on FTS - Monday 15th September 2025
Procurement documents available on In-tend - Monday 15th September 2025
Microsoft Teams Supplier Briefing - Thursday 25th September 2025, 15:00
Deadline for requests for clarification - Friday 17th October 2025, 16:00
Tender return deadline - Monday 27th October 2025, 12:00
Assessment Summaries Published - Monday 1st December 2025
Contract Award Notice Published - Tuesday 2nd December 2025
Standstill and section 20 notification start - Wednesday 3rd December 2025
Standstill finish - Friday 12th December 2025
Section 20 Notice Finish - Friday 2nd January 2026
Contract Award - Monday 5th January 2026
Contract Commencement - Wednesday 1st April 2026
Microsoft Team's Supplier Briefing
A Supplier bidders briefing will be held on Thursday 25th September 2025 via Microsoft Teams.
The Council would anticipate the meeting to take no longer than 90 minutes and would look to follow the suggested agenda below -
• 15:00 - Introductions - 10 minutes
• 15:10 to 16:00 - PCC Presentation
• 16:00 to 16:30 - Question and answers
The purpose of the briefing is to provide Suppliers with an overview of:
• Background and current contracting arrangements
• Change in delivery model
• Procurement Programme
• Conditions of Participation
• Tender Return Requirements
To book a place on the Microsoft Teams meeting, suppliers are to provide the name, role and e-mail address of delegates using the correspondence function on Intend.
Suppliers are not limited to the number of delegates for the Microsoft Teams meeting and should submit their request to attend no later than Wednesday 24th September 2025 by 16:00.
The Council will be recording the Microsoft Teams meeting and will subsequently make this available as part of the SMT pack via Intend.
Any questions and answers will be recorded via the clarification log and will be published to allow all suppliers (including those unable to attend the meeting), unless deemed commercially sensitive.
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