Kingston upon Thames Council has extended its cleaning contract with YBC Cleaning Services Ltd for an additional year, approving a maximum contract value of £5.21m ex VAT (£6.25m inc. VAT). The decision, made to ensure continuity of service, was reported at the Corporate and Resources Committee meeting on 27 November 2025, as an urgent decision taken under Procedure Rule 30.
The initial three-year term of the contract was ending on 30 September 2025, and according to the report, an urgent decision was required because waiting until the November meeting would have caused a lapse in service.
The contract covers building cleaning services, also known as Soft Facilities Management (FM), for the council's corporate sites. The Executive Director Place, in consultation with the Co-Chairs of Corporate and Resources Committee, approved the contract modification, as detailed in Urgent Decision Taken under Procedure Rule 30 - Cleaning Services for Corporate Sites Contract Modif.
The agenda for the meeting noted that a new tender exercise will be carried out following the extension period.
The modified contract value of £5.21m ex VAT (£6.25m inc. VAT) comprises the original £3.5m contract value, an additional £0.4m spent to date, and a £1.31m variation for the one-year extension.
The report pack stated that the scope of requirements for the original contract included routine and responsive cleaning, and several additional services. Additional services that were considered necessary to provide a safe environment, but were not included in the original scope of services, included porterage, pest control services and fire alarm testing. These services caused an increase in costs for FM budgets to manage and the total spend for the full four years, including the extension period, is forecast at £5.21m. Therefore it is required to increase the value of the contract by £1.71m for the full four year period.
To ensure value for money during the one-year extension, the council conducted an option appraisal and, following legal advice, recommended modifying the YBC Contract for one year.
The action was noted by Councillors Andreas Kirsch, Anita Schaper, Richard Thorpe, Rowena Bass, Lorraine Dunstone, Patrick Hall, Amir Ali Khan, Kamala Kugan, Ian Manders, Mike Massimi, Thay Thayalan, Olly Wehring and Andrew Wooldridge.