Hard FM arrangements for reserves and cadets extended
Above: HMS Scotia, the principal Royal Naval Reserve unit for the east of Scotland, based within HMS Caledonia.
Courtesy DIO / MoD / Crown Copyright
The MoD’s existing Built Estate contracts, which provide Hard FM services to defence sites across the UK, have been extended to an additional 1,622 sites supported by the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCA). These sites are known as the Volunteer Estate (VE) and will receive key maintenance work, repairs, servicing and Hard FM.
The adoption of Built Estate arrangements across the VE will help to achieve better value for money and a higher standard of service for users, enabling the RFCA to build on the benefits of contracts already in use across the regular estate. These benefits include the adoption of industry best practice maintenance standards; improved health and safety compliance; and the use of improved technology to inform and manage the delivery of services.
Built Estate Contracts were awarded to Mitie Defence, VIVO Defence Services and VINCI Facilities Defence by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) in 2021.
James Crosfield, DIO’s Senior Responsible Owner for the VE Value For Money Study, said: "This change was a common sense move to bring all defence outputs to the same contractual conditions and outputs.
"Working with suppliers and the RFCA has allowed us to share best practice between all parties. This allows improved value for money and a set standard across the Defence Estate, so we welcome the change."
Maj Gen (Retd) Jamie Gordon, Chief Executive, Council Reserves Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, said: "Today, we go live with new contractors to deliver Hard Facilities Management across the Volunteer Estate. Through this new contact, we will continue to ensure that the Volunteer Estate remains safe and functional for all reserves and cadets to work and train.
"This is but one of the changes that we enacted to deliver the best support to the UK’s reserves and cadets, as we have done over the past 116 years."
Jerry Moloney, Chief Executive Officer of VIVO Defence Services, said: "We are really looking forward to providing asset and facilities management services across 8 of the Volunteer Estate’s 13 UK regions.
"Since we started operations two years ago, we have grown to become one of the largest providers of estate services to the military in the UK, and are committed to helping enable our country’s defence capability through innovation and new ways of working.
"Working for the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association and assisting them in the important role they play for the MoD is really important to us, and I thank everyone involved during our mobilisation period for their hard work and support."
Grant Cristall, VINCI Facilities Defence’s Regional Director, said: "VINCI Facilities’ Defence team is looking forward to delivering Hard FM services to the Volunteer Estate covering Greater London and the South East of England.
"The commencement of this arrangement brings teachings from the current framework and our regional Built Estate contract mobilisation and service delivery to the Volunteer Estate.
"We are fully supportive of the jointly-held ambition to improve the Volunteer Estate, and our team is looking forward to collaboratively working with the RFCA organisations across Greater London and the South East, as well as colleagues across defence, in the development of these nationally-strategic military infrastructure assets."
Charlie Antelme, Managing Director, Mitie Defence, added: "As a committed supporter of the UK’s Armed Forces, we’re proud to mark another great milestone in our long-standing, strategic partnership with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and extend our services to the Volunteer Estate. We look forward to bringing our technology-led approach to facilities transformation and ensuring that both reserve and cadet forces benefit from an efficient, safe, and well-maintained estate in which to live, work and train."
The decision to change the contract arrangements came after significant consultation with stakeholders and the completion of a Value for Money Study, to determine whether Hard FM requirements could be met most cost-effectively by Built Estate suppliers, or through the previous arrangements.
The contractors have been preparing to extend their services to the new sites since the change was announced in December 2023, to help ensure that safe places are provided for reserve forces and cadets to work and train.
