The Head of Corporate Property has submitted a report to seek approval to enter into a contract for Rebuild Cost Assessments of the Council’s property assets to assist with placing the property insurance policy.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.        Recommend to Council the provision of a revenue budget in the General Fund for the sum of £128,000 per annum for the next 3 years and in the HRA for the sum of £55,000 per annum;

2.        Give project approval to tender a contract to undertake the rebuild cost assessments across all assets in both the General Fund and the HRA;

3.        Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Property to finalise the tender documents; and

4.        Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Property, in consultation with the Head of Law and Governance; the Head of Financial Services; and the Deputy Leader (Statutory) - Finance and Asset Management to agree the cost and final terms of, and enter into and make any necessary amendments to, a contract with the preferred supplier.

The Head of Corporate Property had submitted a report to seek approval to enter into a contract for Rebuild Cost Assessments of the Council’s property assets to assist with placing the property insurance policy.

The Deputy Leader (Statutory) highlighted that the insurance market for local authorities was challenging, and the work on rebuild cost assessments which had previously been done in-house did not now satisfy insurance tender requirements.  Consequently, in order for the Council to continue to be able to secure insurance it was necessary for specialist assistance to be procured so as to be able to supply correct estimates to the insurance provider. 

Given the cost involved, officers had been challenged on the need to procure external support.  The alternative option of recruiting specialist staff to undertake the work in-house had been discounted for several reasons, including the cost associated with this approach; the level of human resource which would be needed; and the difficulty in sourcing suitably experienced and qualified staff.  This decision had been informed by discussions with other local authorities.

In agreeing the recommendations, Cabinet noted the likely need for periodic revaluations every 3 years and highlighted the importance of seeking to reduce the costs and bureaucracy associated with this wherever possible.  It was also recommended that alternative approaches to insurance procurement (for example, separating the HRA and General Fund assets for insurance purposes) should continue to be investigated.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.        Recommend to Council the provision of a revenue budget in the General Fund for the sum of £128,000 per annum for the next 3 years and in the HRA for the sum of £55,000 per annum;

2.        Give project approval to tender a contract to undertake the rebuild cost assessments across all assets in both the General Fund and the HRA;

3.        Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Property to finalise the tender documents; and

4.        Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Property, in consultation with the Head of Law and Governance; the Head of Financial Services; and the Deputy Leader (Statutory) - Finance and Asset Management to agree the cost and final terms of, and enter into and make any necessary amendments to, a contract with the preferred supplier.