Temporary Accommodation at Avon Way House, Colchester

Description

Colchester City Council (the ‘Council’) has a need to provide flexible accommodation to meet the needs of homeless households which include families with children and single people with complex needs, in a location and with facilities that are suitable. There is an extraordinarily high demand for affordable accommodation. As a consequence, there are no reasonable alternative or substitute suppliers in the borough of Colchester which can meet the City Council’s technical requirements for those in temporary accommodation need in the necessary timeframe. Lot 1: Colchester City Council has a requirement to provide flexible accommodation to meet the needs of homeless households which include families with children and single people with complex needs, in a location and with facilities that are suitable. Colchester City Council has entered into a licence with Beyond the Box Student Limited (the ‘Supplier’) for the provision of temporary accommodation to fulfil this requirement. There is an extraordinarily high demand for temporary accommodation where many individuals were facing health and well-being difficulties whilst placed in B&B accommodation. Suitable temporary accommodation for homeless individuals in the borough of Colchester is recognised as a priority by the City Council and its partner organisations in addressing homelessness need. The City Council has engaged with partner public sector organisations including Essex County Council, Essex Police, Anglia Ruskin University and Colchester Hospital and the wider market for proposals to meet suitability requirements at a scale which would be able to deliver temporary accommodation units in an urgent timeframe to address the temporary accommodation for homeless individual need. In considering suitability of accommodation available, the City Council has had regard to the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the ‘Code’) in the exercise of its functions, in particular the suitability of the accommodation in accordance with Chapter 17 of the Code and taking into account availability of bathroom and kitchen facilities as well as the social considerations relating to the individual and their household. Following the market engagement by the City Council, the Supplier was the only provider identified which was able to offer flexible temporary accommodation of up to 225 units with suitable facilities for homeless individuals in the required urgent timeframe and to a specification in accordance with the Code in a location that could be readily managed and supported by the City Council. There are no reasonable alternative suppliers in the borough of Colchester which can meet the City Council’s technical requirements for those in temporary accommodation need in the necessary timeframe. The absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement. Accordingly, after due consideration, Colchester City Council has decided to make a direct award pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 to the Supplier on the grounds that competition is absent for technical reasons.