Plymouth company take ‘charge’ of council contract

A Plymouth company has been awarded the contract for all the Council’s electrical maintenance work for the next two years.

The £135,000 a year contract has been awarded to SSI Electrical Services for the second time after beating off stiff competition from 21 other local and national contractors.

Plymouth City Council’s procurement process assessed each tender on a mixture of quality and price criteria. One of the elements of awarding this particular contract was to find out each company’s benefit to the city and/or its communities.

The Council wanted to understand each company’s commitment to the living wage, how they support and develop apprentices and offer training and development opportunities for all staff.

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Finance said: “I’m really pleased that a Plymouth company won the tender for this essential contract. Part of this particular tender process involved asking the bidders how they use apprentices and their policy on providing the living wage.

“SSI showed a real commitment to providing local people with a good standard of living as well as offering training and employment opportunities to 16 – 19 year olds every year.”

The contractor will be responsible for the electrical maintenance, repair and refurbishment of all the Council’s buildings including libraries, children’s centres and maintaining community meals kitchens with a 24 hour emergency service 365 days a year.

Managing Director of SSI, Jon Stopporton said: “We are delighted to be awarded the electrical maintenance contract as we have been working successfully with Plymouth City Council for several years.

“At SSI Electrical Services we believe in providing opportunities for the local community through employment and local procurement wherever possible. We are proud to be part of the Plymouth business community.”