Executive Summary of Options[i]

Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
Direct delivery i.e. no separate organisation – council provides services	Council in control No private profit extracted Staff receive benefits of working for the council – likely to have union and staff support No risk of contractor insolvency No procurement necessary for DLO Ability to ensure positive relationships with tenants	May not be realistic if incumbent’s management employees are not caught by TUPE or opt out of TUPE (council does not currently employ staff with the necessary experience) Significant start-up costs e.g. vans, IT as there is currently little/no infrastructure DLO will find it more difficult to meet fluctuating demands than a national contractor who can flex their workforce across geographic areas Lack of established ways of working and corporate experience of delivering services Significant resources required to undertake multiple procurements e.g. vans, IT, sub-contractors Will have to procure sub-contractors etc. in compliance with EU regulated public procurement regime and Contract Standing Orders Will need to procure some  planned repairs and major works where the DLO does not have the capacity / skills
Outsourcing – either via a partnership contract, term contract or framework agreement	Successful bidder will supply vans and IT  and will absorb start-up costs (though will be reflected in pricing) Likely to have established ways of working/procedures in place to deliver services Council will receive a contractor warranty in relation to the works Existing contract has worked well for responsive repairs. Separate tailored procurements e.g. for responsive repairs and major works would ensure right contract and contractor for different aspects of service	Risk of contractor insolvency (but this risk can be reduced by robust consideration of financial standing in selection stage of procurement) Incumbent will have advantage in procurement process over other suppliers as no start-up costs and in-depth knowledge of councils requirements (though the council is under a duty to try and level the playing field if possible during the procurement process) Procurement process encourages low bids which may lead bidders to plan to reduce wages (despite constraints of TUPE) May not work as well for customer contact where more control and interaction with tenants would be beneficial
Wholly owned subsidiary	Council in control in relation to staff	If contractor appointed to manage – will extract some profit High cost of establishing and administrative costs of supporting board etc Potentially difficult to navigate as staff employed by council but taking direction from contractor
JV	May be able to win other work and benefit from economies of scale	Competitive dialogue takes 12- 18 months. Incumbent has advantage Very high start-up costs e.g. legal work to support competitive dialogue and establish JV Ongoing costs of supporting board etc.

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[i] This executive summary does not include all the advantages and disadvantages set out in the Trowers & Savills report but is intended to capture the most significant ones.