Halton Housing, a Northwest housing association with over 7,000 homes across Widnes and Runcorn, has recently completed the re-tendering of its vehicle contract hire framework. The framework will last for four years and covers a range of vehicles from small cars to 26-tonne refuse vehicles and plant and specialist vehicles.
Halton Housing was established in 2005 and prides itself on an innovative approach to providing homes and delivering services that improve people’s lives. The new framework strongly emphasises Halton Housing’s property maintenance team’s needs, with bidders evaluated on quality as a priority. The framework is available to use by other registered providers, local authorities and other public sector contracting authorities around the UK.
This framework’s re-tendering comes hot on the heels of Halton Housing’s 2020 innovative and ultra-low-cost fleet purchase framework with its transparent manufacturer rebates starting at a token £1 per vehicle. It is the fourth iteration of the framework, with previous versions tendered by Halton Housing in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
This time around, Halton Housing broadened the scope of the framework to include vehicle lots for employee salary sacrifice schemes and the flexi/spot hire of vehicles. Both of these sectors are becoming increasingly popular. Flexi-hire has been instrumental in assisting public sector fleets in coping with the coronavirus’s demands. Simultaneously, employee salary sacrifice schemes are increasingly on the radar of conscientious employers to enable their employees to take advantage of the favourable tax benefits of migrating to electric vehicles.
Scott Murray, Director of Homes at Halton Housing, commented: ‘We pride ourselves on offering the best services to our residents and genuinely improving people’s lives. This vehicle contract framework is a flagship example of that commitment. Working with Link Group, a partner that shares our vision and values, has been crucial to our strategy, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.’
Marc Garrett, Associate Director at Link Group, said: ‘Halton Housing is, by its admission, no ordinary housing association. The team’s innovative and forward-thinking approach is astonishing. This new framework will make a real difference, and we’re proud to be involved in the process.’
Details of the four lots and the relevant suppliers are as follows:
- Contract hire of cars and LCVs up to five tonnes: Athlon Mobility Services UK, Days Fleet, KINTO UK, Lex Autolease, ALD Automotive, Go Plant Fleet Services, Alphabet (GB), TCH Leasing.
- Contract hire of heavy and specialist vehicles: Specialist Fleet Services, London Hire, Go Plant Fleet Services, CP Davidson & Sons, V M S Fleet Management, Dawsongroup
- Employee car salary sacrifice schemes: KINTO UK, TCH Leasing, LeasePlan, Grosvenor Leasing Contracts.
- Flexi/spot hire: Specialist Fleet Services, London Hire, Northgate, C.P Davidson & Sons, Go Plant Fleet Services, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Dawsongroup, Lex Autolease, MuniHire Limited, Arnold Clark Finance, V M S Fleet Management, LeasePlan
