Unitas Stoke-on-Trent, which is wholly owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and independently operated recently celebrated the renewal of our contract as the main Repair and Maintenance company for the City Council’s 17,600 homes and circa 600 public buildings.
The contract renewal follows our first five years of business during which we have enjoyed multiple successes including being awarded a ROSPA Gold Award, giving back over £1million in CSR payback in the 2022/23 financial year and completing over 1 million hours’ work since a RIDDOR reportable incident.
We have a strong commitment to the Environment, Team Wellbeing and our Corporate Social Responsibility.
We’re excited for our future and delighted to be able to offer opportunities for construction and building specialists to form long term relationships with us in the form of a Framework Agreement.
What is a Framework?
Because Unitas is owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, we’re required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These regulations detail the way we have to offer out higher value contracts for tendering to ensure we act fairly and transparently.
A Framework Agreement is an agreement between us and one of more service providers. It allows us to agree on terms, conditions and costs of certain jobs over a period of 4 years. This means that once a job becomes available, we already have an agreement in place with a supplier.
Categories
We have a number of contracts on offer:
| Element
|
Approximate Value over contract period | Number of Suppliers |
| Asbestos Removal Works
Comprising: Removing AIB panels, cement panels / soffit boards, artex coatings, floor tiles, storage heaters, flue pipes, forming enclosures, encapsulation works, environmental cleans. |
£1.3m | 7 |
| Asbestos Surveys
Comprising: Management, refurbishment and target surveys, all with various turn-around times for different parts of the Unitas business, plus air monitoring and sampling |
£1.9m | 7 |
| Door and Canopy Installations
Comprising: Front and rear entrance door replacements (composite) store door replacements. Rear entrance gate replacements, door replacements to sheds, garages and meter boxes. Remove existing concrete canopies and replace with pre-formed GRP canopy. |
£1.0m | 7 |
| General Building Works
Comprising: Labour only opportunity to provide suitable labour for bricklaying and groundwork activities. |
£0.4m | 7 |
| Re-pointing Works
Comprising: Full and or partial re-pointing works to houses, bungalows, flats, garden walls and the like and the general replacement of damaged bricks. |
£0.8m | 7 |
| Re-roofing Works
Comprising: Pitched tile re-roofing to all property types, together with renewal of defective timbers, soffits, fascia’s and guttering and the like. Maintenance works to chimneys including repointing, rebuilding or removal. Removal and re-fixing of solar panels. Fire-stopping to roof spaces. Loft insulation. Felt roofing to out-houses, bay windows and the like. All associated scaffolding requirements |
£12.3m | 10 |
| Scaffolding
Comprising: All scaffolding requirements for all types of maintenance and renewals to all low-level property types. Note scaffolding included with the roofing, kitchens and bathroom works are excluded from here. |
£7.0m | 7 |
| Replacement Central Heating and Boiler Only Installations
Comprising: Full central heating replacements with combi-boiler, boiler only replacements, system up-grades with additional radiators and / or thermostatic rad valves. Loft insulation. Some building up of fire place. The fitting of Sure-stop stop taps, and similar control valves and the like. Fitting of battery-operated CO detectors. |
£10.6m | 4 |
| Bathroom Renewals
Comprising Strip out existing suite, knock of tiled splashbacks and the like. Plaster patch to make good. Install new toilet, basin and bath. Adjust all pipework to suit. New tiled splashbacks. Replace or install ne extract fan. Bathroom light fitting. Vinyl flooring. Decoration. Some installations will be for a shower in lieu of a bath. |
£3.5m | 7 |
| Kitchen Renewals
Comprising: A small number of kitchen renewals will be required (POD bungalows etc) Strip out existing kitchen, knock off tiles and the like. Plaster to make good. Rewire kitchen circuit to suite new layout including new outlets, light fittings, extract fan etc. Adjust pipework to suit. Install new kitchen units and worktops. Wall tiling. Vinyl flooring. Decoration. |
£0.5m | 3 |
Benefits of Joining the Framework
In addition to our Award-winning Health and Safety Practices, professional standards and reputation for excellent quality, businesses who’re added to our Framework will gain:
- Quicker access to work. With businesses already contracted, any delays to work which would normally be caused by negotiating, trading certifications and payment discussions will already be arranged, meaning delays are all but eradicated.
- Fast payment terms. Unitas has an excellent reputation for fast payment of invoices and aims to pay all invoices within 30 days of receipt.
Benefits to Unitas Customers
Using a Framework Agreement and having all the terms listed above already agreed means that our customers have a shorter wait for work to begin.
As part of our Customer Engagement Strategy, our aim is to perform responsive repairs within [need term] and having these agreements in place ensures that we can not only meet, but exceed these aims.
FAQ’s
How does the process of joining the Framework work?
Using the links below, you can submit a bid to join the Framework. Once received, you will be advised on the success of your bid and from there advised on the documents/information you will need to supply and the information you will need to provide to take your place.
Do businesses have to take on work if they’re on the Framework?
Not at all. If your schedule at that time doesn’t allow you to undertake the work, we will offer the work to other businesses on the Framework. You won’t be penalised for this and any future offers won’t be prejudiced by this.
Do you offer any help with bidding?
Yes, we want to make the process simple and accessible for all.
We recently held our Meet the Buyer event on 20 March inviting new contractors and existing contractors in advance of new frameworks of work going out to tender. They had the opportunity to talk to key Unitas staff, network with other contractors and to attend two workshops that give tips on the Tender Documents/Bid Process using Pro Contract and How to Write a Winning Bid.
If you were not able to attend the event and would like copies of the information, please contact the Governance Team governance@unitas.co.uk and we will be happy to send it to you.
Where/how do I bid?
Click the link below to be taken to all of the opportunities currently open with Unitas and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
Unitas Contractor Support Framework (UN/2023/195*) (due-north.com)
