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When did NBC first give contracts for housing regeneration work to builders Frank Haslam Milan and when did the contract start and finish?
Frank Haslam Milan & Company were appointed by NBC for the decent homes programme and not by Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH) therefore NPH cannot comment on this.
Later builders Keepmoat continued with FHM work for the council. what was the dates Keepmoat started and finished the works?
Frank Haslam Milan & Company Limited became Keepmoat Regeneration (FHM) Limited on 30 August 2013. This was a rebranding exercise; the company number (00629404) remained the same. Again, this pre-dates NPH’s involvement.
Around 6 years ago builders Engie were given contracts by NBC for regeneration work on the interiors of their houses. Did Engie tend for these contracts?
In 2016 NPH completed a formal tender exercise for a partnering contractor. This was an open EU compliant procurement exercise with a number of bidders. Keepmoat won the tender. This procurement exercise was undertaken by NPH, not the Council. Under NPH Keepmoat have delivered a successful regeneration scheme and other works on properties. In construction rebranding, mergers and take overs are not unusual.
Also there has been a large number of complaints regarding the work carried out by FHM, Keepmoat and Engie.
NPH cannot comment on complaints that pre-date its creation in 2015. However since the contract started with Keepmoat (and then Engie) in the Autumn of 2017, there have been 127 complaints reported to NPH since August 2018. Given this is 127 complaints in a period spanning more than four years, in the context of major works completed on over 5000 homes (with works to a further 1800 homes underway or mobilising this year), NPH would not regard this as a large number of complaints.
Please note, Complaints recorded prior to this August 2018 are no longer accessible as the System previously used to record complaints is no longer supported.
As Engie bought the regeneration part of Keepmoat builders, which included the bulk of their staff and the poor reputation they have. Did NBC have any qualms regarding offering contracts to Engie builders?
This procurement exercise was undertaken by NPH, not the Council. Under NPH Keepmoat had delivered a successful regeneration scheme and other works on properties. NPH have no record or knowledge of Keepmoat having a poor reputation, quite the contrary in fact. Keepmoat won an EU compliant tender and as such no, NPH did not have any qualms offering contracts to Keepmoat. The acquisition by Engie has resulted in greater buying power as a larger company with extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of sustainability which (given the zero carbon agenda) is very helpful. The contract manager and many of the team have stayed the same and continued to build and retain a local workforce and supply chain.