North Yorkshire Council

North Yorkshire Council – Washroom Services

REPORT TO; Assistant Director, Property, Procurement and Commercial

DECISION DATE: 22 April 2026

PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION

To seek approval to pursue a direct award of the North Yorkshire Council Washroom Services contract utilising Procurement Gateway 1 & 3 direct award. 

BACKGROUND

The existing contract was only awarded in 2023 and has taken until now to fully mobilise due to the complexity and resource implications due to  

• Onboarding a significant number of sites, including both corporate locations and public toilets, many with challenging access arrangements.   

• Streamlining and consolidating multiple previous contracts into this single agreement post LGR  

• Organising invoicing and ensuring compliance across all sites 

The current Washroom Services contract is scheduled to be re-procured, with a new contract intended to start in June 2026. However, the existing contract only commenced in 2023, and it has taken until now to fully mobilise this arrangement.   

Mobilisation has been complex and resource-intensive due to:   

• Onboarding a significant number of sites, including both corporate locations and public toilets, many with challenging access arrangements.   

• Streamlining and consolidating multiple previous contracts into this single agreement.   

• Organising invoicing and ensuring compliance across all sites.   

This process has required considerable time and effort from several officers. Both the Principal Workplace and Facilities Manager and the Public Conveniences Manager have only reached a stable management position, neither currently have the resource capacity to work with a new contractor to mobilise another contract. Attempting to do so would pose a risk to the organisation, as:   

 - Standards of sanitation could be compromised without a robust handover. Potential reputational damage if there were issues in workplaces but especially given the time of year (June) for public toilets when usage is higher than winter months and the County relying heavily on tourism is some areas to support local economy and income generating NYC services such as leisure sites, museums.   

 - It would not be cost-effective given the significant investment already made in centralising and stabilising the current contract.   

 - There would be spend and resource required from the maintenance budget to put right any damage as a result of the removal and installation of items such as hand driers and at present this resource is unlikely to be made a priority.    

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, there is a strong justification t pursue a direct award of the North Yorkshire Council Washroom Services contract utilising Procurement Gateway 1 & 3 direct award. This would allow us time to:   

• Review performance, which has been sporadic due to changes in the management of this contract.   

• Sanity-check product placement and washroom goods to ensure we have a standard offering across the County.   

• Ensure collection frequencies match demand.   

• Put the organisation in a stronger position to tender confidently for a new contract, knowing exactly what is needed, where it is needed, and how often   

• Avoid additional and unnecessary spend in putting things right when equipment is removed from sites i.e. redecoration / filling of holes etc.   

Although other procurement options have been considered prior to arriving at the preferred route, including an Open Tender, or utilising alternative frameworks, none were deemed ideal to secure the continuity required for these services, at this point in time. The YPO Washroom Services Framework – 1260 offers the ‘Direct Award’ option required to secure supplier continuity with PHS as our current incumbent supplier. YPO, in collaboration with Eastern Shires Procurement Organisation (ESPO), have appointed Suppliers to the 1260 (239_24) Framework Agreement for the provision of Washroom Services, one of whom is PHS. This is a National Framework and a single Lot solution which will cover the collection and disposal of offensive and bio-hazardous waste and supply of washroom related equipment.   

RECOMMENDATION(S)

i) To approve the direct award of the North Yorkshire Council Washroom Services to the existing supplier through Procurement Gate 1 & 3 direct award. 

Report Author – Joy Morrison , Principal Workplace and Facilities Manager