Home Group tenders £5m asbestos management framework

Home Group has opened a procurement process for a regional asbestos management framework worth an estimated £5m, seeking surveying, analytical and removal specialists for its domestic and commercial property portfolio. The procurement covers inspections and laboratory work as well as licensed and non-licensed removal and, where necessary, reinstatement after asbestos interventions.

Procurement listings record a submission deadline of 13 November 2026 and an estimated £5m value for the proposed regional framework. This is a competition for providers, not a commitment to spend that sum or confirmation of removal work at any identified property. Procurement records show an initial notice release on 18 October and a further listing on 19 October. They concern the same £5m competition, rather than two separate frameworks.

Home Group intends to appoint two surveying and analytical providers in each regional lot, ranked according to tender evaluation, together with one removal contractor per regional lot. That structure separates the investigation and monitoring functions from physical remediation. It also creates different resources for routine management, intrusive surveys before construction and specialist work when asbestos-containing materials must be disturbed or removed.

Management surveys support building owners in locating, assessing and monitoring asbestos-containing materials during normal occupation and maintenance. The resulting information feeds an asbestos register and management plan so people carrying out repairs can understand where potentially hazardous materials are present. A survey is not a declaration that a building is free of asbestos; its usefulness depends on access, sampling, the competence of the surveyor and the clarity with which inaccessible areas are recorded.

Before refurbishment or demolition, the survey must address the parts of a building that proposed intrusive works are likely to disturb. The exercise can involve opening up construction, inspecting concealed voids and sampling suspect materials that would not normally be accessible. HSE guidance says areas undergoing this type of intrusive inspection must be vacated and made fit for reoccupation afterwards. Results need to reach designers, principal contractors and affected trades before the work is planned and carried out.

The tender also covers re-inspection, air monitoring and laboratory analysis. Re-inspection allows condition changes to be identified over time, which can alter the suitability of leaving an asbestos-containing material in place. Sampling and analysis help distinguish suspected materials from confirmed findings. Air testing can form part of the control and clearance arrangements for particular work, but individual test results have to be interpreted alongside visual inspection and the relevant asbestos-control procedures.

Whether work requires an HSE-licensed contractor depends on the material, its condition and the method and extent of disturbance. Other work may be non-licensed, while some non-licensed tasks trigger notification, medical surveillance and record-keeping duties. These decisions follow the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the relevant risk assessment; Home Group’s commercial division of work into surveying and removal lots cannot displace those legal requirements.

Licensed work normally calls for carefully planned access, suitable containment and arrangements for preventing fibre release to workers or occupants. For housing providers, the interfaces with occupied flats, communal corridors and essential building services can be significant. Residents may need temporary restrictions or alternative access while a particular area is isolated. The current tender does not establish that any specific Home Group building requires evacuation or that a named removal project has been authorised.

Remedial reinstatement can become necessary after removing contaminated or asbestos-containing material. Building fabric may need to be repaired and service routes restored before the affected area returns to ordinary use. This part of the scope links specialist environmental control with conventional construction trades, creating a need to sequence surveys, removal, inspection and follow-on works so later contractors do not unknowingly disturb unresolved materials.

Earlier supplier engagement informed Home Group’s procurement approach, while the current competitive process sets out a regional supplier structure. The published information indicates ranked appointments for surveying and analytical services and separate appointments for removal. It does not name successful bidders, establish how much work each region will receive or identify individual properties for remediation. Those details depend on the procurement outcome and subsequent instructions.

Surveying quality and the independence of analytical checks will be important contract-management issues. HSE guidance identifies competence, survey planning, quality assurance and clear communication of findings as necessary elements of asbestos risk management. A procurement process can select service providers, but property-specific risk assessment, appropriate control methods and accurate records remain essential each time work is instructed.

Home Group is seeking regional coverage for work that may range from maintaining asbestos records to intrusive inspections and controlled removal before building alterations. The framework will be usable only after the procurement has concluded and providers have been appointed. Specific works will still require suitable surveys, risk assessments, occupant protection and records before contractors disturb the relevant materials.