Board Report - Notification of the award of a Contract for Single Building Assessment – Approved Assessor and Verifier
Renfrewshire Council · 23 April 2026
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 23 April 2026 and its agenda
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 23 April 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance and Resources and the Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Notification of the award of a Contract for Single Building Assessment – Approved Assessor and Verifier (RC-CPU-25-089) under standing order 9.1(k) of Renfrewshire Council Standing Orders Relating to Contracts ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to notify the Finance, Resources, and Customer Services Policy Board of the award of a Contract for Single Building Assessment – Approved Assessor and Verifier Project (RC- CPU-25-089) authorised for award by the Head of Housing Services and Corporate Procurement Manager under standing order 9.1(K) of Council Standing Orders Relating to Contracts on 4 March 2026. The Contract was awarded to Firntec Limited (Co.no 13460282) on 26 March 2026. 1.2 Council received grant funding from the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme – Single Building Assessments to carry out Initial Gateway Assessments and full Single Building Assessments to 14 of the Council’s high rises, a condition of which sets out how and when the funding needs to be used. The funding was required to be committed by 31 March 2026. However, the Scottish Government has provided flexibility to the funding deadline and it can now be used beyond April 2026. To ensure the grant could be utilised within the required timescale, the Interim Corporate Procurement Manager approved the use of standing order 9.1(k) of Council Standing
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PUBLIC Orders Relating to Contracts which requires the retrospective reporting of the contract award to this Policy Board. 1.3 The procurement exercise was conducted as an above Government Procurement Agreement Open Tender Procedure, as detailed within section 3 of this report. _________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations The Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board is asked to note that: 2.1 The Contract for Single Building Assessment – Approved Assessor and Verifier (RC-CPU-25-089) was awarded to Firntec Limited (Co.no 13460282), in accordance with clause 9.1(K) of Council Standing Orders Relating to Contracts January 2024 by the Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure on 26 March 2026 as detailed in section 3 of this report. 2.2 The Total of the Prices is £516,450 excluding VAT. This Contract is fully funded by Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme – Single Building Assessments. 2.3 A contingency spend is available of £51,645 which equates to 10% of the Total of the Prices. 2.4 The total Approved Contract value is £568,095 excluding VAT, which is the Total of the Prices plus the contingency spend as approved by Head of Housing Services and Corporate Procurement Manager. 2.5 The starting date was 30 March 2026, and the completion date is 52 weeks from the starting date. 2.6 The Consultant’s total Liability to the Council within this Contract for matters for which insurance is provided is £10 million and the Consultant’s total Liability to the Council for other matters is £10 million. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council had the requirement to appoint an approved Scottish Government Single Building Assessment Consultant to undertake initial Gateway Assessments and Single Building Assessments to 14 high rise residential buildings within the Renfrewshire Council area. The outcome of these assessments is to
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PUBLIC produce two reports, in an agreed format, as well as provide expert advice to the Council. 3.2 The Consultant must adhere to the Single Building Specification document published by the Scottish Government in June 2024, the proscribed procedures and adhere to PAS9980. These requirements were stated within the tender documentation issued for the Contract. 3.3 The Contract is fully funded by the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme – Single Building Assessments and there are conditions attached to how and when the funding needs to be used. Therefore, to ensure the Council meets the funding conditions, the Interim Corporate Procurement Manager agreed the use of standing order 9.1(K) as summarised in paragraph 1.2. 3.4 The procurement was compliant with the Procurement Regulations. A Contract Notice was published on Find a Tender Service via the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal on 10 November 2025 with tender documentation available for downloading from Public Contracts Scotland – Tender portal from this date. 3.5 During the live tender period, 21 organisations expressed an interest in this tender, however, only 9 were Scottish Government approved Assessors, a selection criteria requirement. By the closing date set for the return of electronic tender submissions at 12 noon on 10 December 2025, 7 organisations submitted a tender response, 3 organisations declined to respond (1 organisation was a Scottish Government Approved Assessor), and 11 organisations did not respond. 3.6 As required by Regulation 60 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, as amended, Tenderers were each required to complete a Single Procurement Document (“SPD”), which was to be submitted with their tender submission. All 7 organisations were evaluated against a pre-determined set of criteria in the form of the SPD by representatives from the following Council Services: Housing Services, the Corporate Procurement Unit, Corporate Risk and Corporate Health & Safety. 3.7 All 7 tender submissions complied with the minimum selection criteria of the SPD. Each tender submissions was evaluated against the Award Criteria which were based on a weighting of 70% Quality and 30% Price. 3.8 During this evaluation one tender submission was considered to be abnormally low and the information presented to the Council in response to the Regulation 69 enquiry had not satisfied the Council that
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PUBLIC the Tenderer price could have been maintained in the performance of the Contract. This bid was treated as irregular in accordance with Regulation 27 (6)(d) of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and did not progress to the award stage. 3.9 The scores relative to the award criteria for the 6 remaining Tenderers are noted below: Quality (70%) Price (30%) Total (100%) 1 Firntec Ltd (Co.no 13460282) 65.00% 23.45% 88.45% 2 Global HSE Solutions Ltd (co.no.05906312) 57.25% 23.05% 80.30% 3 Bailey Partnership (Group) Ltd (co.no. 15873896) 42.50% 30.00% 72.50% 4 Diamond and Company (Scotland) Limited (co.no. SC649205) 52.25% 18.75% 71.00% 5 Thomas & Adamson International Limited (co.no. SC171733) 44.75% 25.79% 70.54% 6 Ahearne Fire Engineering Limited T/A AFEC International (an Eire registered Company) (CRO number 347221) 9.50% 22.53% 32.03% 3.10 The evaluation of tender submissions received identified that the submission by Firntec Ltd was the most economically advantageous tender. 3.11 To ensure the grant could be utilised within the required timescale, the Interim Corporate Procurement Manager approved the use of standing order 9.1(k) of Council Standing Orders Relating to Contracts which requires the retrospective reporting of the contract award to this Policy Board. 3.12 Community Benefits were requested as part of the procurement process and Firntec Ltd have committed the following Community Benefits: Community Benefits Description No of People / Activity Industry Awareness Event 1 Non-Financial support for a Social Enterprise within Renfrewshire 1 Financial support for a Social Enterprise within Renfrewshire 1 Non-Financial support for a Community Project/ Group 1
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial The Approved Contract Value is £568,095 excluding VAT, which is the Total of the Prices and the Contingency. This Contract is fully funded by the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme – Single Building Assessments. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning – • Our Renfrewshire is thriving – maximising economic growth, which is inclusive and sustainable. • Our Renfrewshire is well – supporting the wellness and resilience of our citizens and communities. • Our Renfrewshire is fair – addressing the inequalities which limit life chances. • Our Renfrewshire is safe – protecting vulnerable people and working together to manage the risk of harm. Living our Values: Ensuring Renfrewshire Council delivers Best Value for our citizens and customers, that we demonstrate we are a well governed, effective organisation. 4. Legal – This Contract was awarded under standing order exemption 9.1(k) of Council Standing Orders Relating to Contracts by the Head of Housing Services and Corporate Procurement Manager and in compliance with the Procurement Regulations and Procurement Principles. 5. Property/Assets – the services provided in this Contract will ensure a comprehensive risk assessment for the Council’s 14 multi-storey blocks to identify any unsafe external wall cladding, internal fire safety and determining any remedial works that will be required to be undertaken. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. 7. Equality & Human Rights – None directly arising from this report.
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PUBLIC 8. Health & Safety – Firntec Ltd health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement – The procurement procedure outlined within this report ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. To ensure the funding conditions are met such as a commitment by 31 March 2026 for the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme – Single Building Assessments the Interim Corporate Procurement Manager approved the use of standing order 9.1(k) of Council Standing Orders Relating to Contracts which requires the retrospective reporting of the contract award to this Policy Board. 10. Risk – Firntec Ltd insurance has been assessed and evaluated to confirm they meet the minimum requirements regarding insurance risk. This Contract includes caps on liability. Firntec Limited total liability to the Council for matters for which insurance is provided is £10 million and the Consultant’s total Liability to the Council for other matters is £10 million. 11. Privacy Impact – None directly arising from this report. 12. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with the provision of these works have been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered Low Risk. 13. Children’s Rights – None directly arising from this report. 14. Cosla Policy Position – None directly arising from this report. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Kevin Milliken, Senior Procurement Specialist, Corporate Procurement Unit, (kevin.milliken@renfrewshire.gov.uk)