12
Accepted
An illustration of the poor long-term management of the Weybridge site is the inappropriate facilities...
Conclusion
An illustration of the poor long-term management of the Weybridge site is the inappropriate facilities management contract. The Department explained that in 2009 it consolidated a number of facilities management contracts across its estate resulting in one contract covering a large part of its estate including the Weybridge site. The Department stated that while this did result in some improvements and cost savings across its estate, the contract was not suited to the specific requirements of a high containment science site such as Weybridge. For example, the National Audit Office highlighted that the contract did not have suitable key performance indicators for a high containment science site. The Department confirmed that this added to the decline of the Weybridge site.24 The Department stated that it had not provided enough staff to manage the site and the facilities management contract. Prior to 2016, it had less than five people involved in managing the site which was not enough for a site of that complexity.25
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee’s conclusion and commits to incorporating lessons learned from past management failures into the procurement for a new facilities management contract, implementing a new operational asset strategy, and increasing the dedicated Technical Services team at Weybridge by 50%.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2023 2.2 The Asset Management Policy, Asset Management Plan, Weybridge Campus Strategy, (including Development Control Plan), are on target to be fully adopted by Quarter 4 of 2022-23. Asset Management lessons learnt have been included in the procurement for the new Workplace and Facilities Management contract and these are set out below. 2.3 The planned Target Operating Model (TOM) post contract commencement will deliver an operational asset strategy from a bespoke blend of industry standard maintenance standards. The Service and Facilities Group 20 (SFG20) - the industry definitive standard for building maintenance specifications) and the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) - an industry standard set by the NHS, will drive asset maintenance. This regime will provide the asset data and condition information, used in conjunction with the campus building strategy, to create the forward maintenance register and subsequent replacement plans. 2.4 The procurement has focussed on evaluating bidders against their capability and capacity, through science specific evaluation to deliver services to the Weybridge estate. To drive a strong technical response, bidders are being assessed on a 70:30 Quality: Cost ratio. All bidders have had a site tour and briefing from APHA Directors and the department’s Chief Engineer about site requirements. To be successful each bidder must demonstrate capability to deliver to the standards required. 2.5 The future service provider’s sub-contracting model is being tested in evaluation to ensure a balance of technical specialism and resilience. Once contracted the service provider will have full access to incumbent sub-contractors to enable knowledge retention. A key area of focus is the increase in capacity and capability of the Facilities Management team. Weybridge will have a dedicated Technical Services team with an increase of around 50% in technical management.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure
16 Nov 2022
HC 42
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
3.7 yrs
Report published
16 Nov 2022