Decision details

To seek approval to pursue an award of the North Yorkshire Council Washroom Services contract utilising Procurement Gateway 1 and 3 award process. Due to the value of the contract which is in excess of £500,000 key decision and publication on the forward plan is required

•To direct award of the North Yorkshire Council Washroom Services contract utilising Procurement Gateway 1

There was strong justification to pursue a direct award of the North Yorkshire Council Washroom Services contract utilising Procurement Gateway 1

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 Convenience 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 in 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.

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.