Why the sector index is not your contract's inflation clause
An ONS service-sector output index describes broad movements across providers. It cannot tell you what a particular contractor should charge for a hospital, office campus or 20-site retail portfolio. Labour hours, location, wages, security, equipment, supervision and operating hours can legitimately make one contract behave differently.
ONS building-cleaning services index: 130.8 → 137.4, or +5.0% year on year. Index base: 2015=100.
Check the official ONS series ↗
Values are from the published snapshot; subsequent ONS revisions may apply.
Four checks before accepting a proposed increase
1. Is the service genuinely comparable?
Normalise visits, cleaning frequency, occupied area, staffing hours, consumables, waste handling, response-time commitments and supervision. Price per site is misleading when one site buys considerably more work than another.
2. Which part of the increase is new scope?
Ask for a bridge showing existing unit rates, new rates, added labour hours, additional locations and any wage or insurance impacts. If an agreed indexation clause exists, identify the specified index, date and maximum increase. Never substitute an unrelated broad index for the contractual mechanism.
3. Are alternatives operationally credible?
Review coverage, relief staffing, worker checks where appropriate, mobilisation costs, supervision and service references. Calculate total delivered cost, including the cost of transitioning to a new provider. A cheap quote that leaves important sites uncovered is not comparable.
4. How will finance verify the outcome?
Record agreed scope and annual volume, sign amended terms, retain mobilisation costs separately and check actual invoices. A negotiated discount that isn't implemented doesn't constitute a delivered saving.
When an external consultancy makes sense
One small renewal may be best handled internally. A business with multiple facilities contracts, different local suppliers and at least £5m of suitable annual group expenditure may justify a formal category review alongside related costs. The client retains all supplier-appointment and contract-signing authority.
Useful next steps: run the price-increase comparator, review facilities-management cost opportunities, and understand the negotiation service.
Sources and limitations
ONS Services Producer Price Indices, series I2AH, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Interpretation is independent; ONS has not endorsed Pearl Lemon Procurement. This content does not claim any specific client result or achievable saving.