It is widely recognised that affordable housing is a huge area of need in Scotland today. To help meet the Scottish Government’s target of delivering 50,000 affordable home by 2021, including 35,000 for social rent, Scotland Excel has announced its new build housing framework that will help meet this ambition now and in the future.
The framework, a multi-supplier contract arrangement that can be used by a range of public sector organisations, is being developed to help councils and housing associations find the best contractors to build affordable housing across the country. This will shorten project timescales and secure best value. Backed by a proven 10-year Scotland Excel track record, the new framework will underpin Scottish Government policy and position the organisation as a key partner within Scotland’s construction sector.
Over the past decade, Scotland Excel has transformed how Scotland’s local government sector buys essential goods, services and works to make sure it gets the best value when spending public money. In that time, the value of contracts has grown from £100m to £1bn a year and Scotland Excel’s members have saved around £150m.
Savings are only part of the story, however; built into Scotland Excel’s contracts are social benefits, from encouraging employers to pay the living wage to securing apprenticeships and creating jobs (to date, 200 apprentice- ships and 247 jobs). Housing Associations are also increasingly seeing the benefits of working with Scotland Excel, with 17 joining in the past year alone bringing the total to 22.
The organisation has acted as a leader of positive change, helping to raise the profile of public procurement by championing its potential to shape markets, support policy priorities, and, ultimately, ensure the sustainable delivery of the services that every community needs.
Housing is one area where it is working to transform the landscape and reap the benefits of collaboration across councils. Local government and the affordable housing sector will need to undertake considerable procurement activity to meet the Scottish Government’s ambitious targets. Coinciding with Scotland Excel’s 10th anniversary, the development of the new build housing framework will help to deliver these much-needed affordable new homes.
This national collaborative approach will generate significant strategic and operational efficiencies, particularly around developing specifications, as well as mitigating potential bottlenecks within the procurement process. Additional benefits will also be delivered through the new build programme, including jobs and apprenticeships.
“There has been significant stakeholder consultation,” said Jennifer McKerrall, Scotland Excel’s strategic programme manager for construction and social care, “to make sure that the framework is reflective of stakeholder requirements and provides an effective solution for both purchasers and contractors. Ultimately, everyone’s goal is to provide high quality homes for the people of Scotland.”
Importantly for the Scottish economy, Scotland Excel encourages a range of businesses across the country to tender for work. The new frame- work will build on this by including lots for various project sizes. It will also require sub-contracting opportunities to be opened up to local businesses.
“We always challenge the view that national contracts are only for big business, and work to dispel the myth that public procurement is prohibitively bureaucratic. Scotland Excel frame-work suppliers are around 70% small and medium enterprises, ensuring economic benefits are achieved across the country.
“The targets local authorities and housing associations have to meet are incredibly ambitious - but we think having access to a range of contractors will make a real difference. We are also keen to hear from those offering innovative construction methods which could improve delivery timescales as well as those offering more traditional models.”
The new build housing framework contract notice will be published in November 2018 with a live framework in place by August 2019.
An evolving portfolio
Scotland Excel is in the vanguard of procurement innovation
More than 200,000 are employed in Scotland’s construction industry, and through public contracts their work develops the infrastructure for services such as health, transport, and education.
In 2013, a Scottish Government’s review of public sector procurement in construction envisioned “an approach which achieves better collaboration in design-led, efficient and effective public sector construction procurement and which has regard to sustainability”.
Scotland Excel is helping make this vision a reality. As the Centre of Procurement Expertise for local government, it manages a portfolio of 13 construction frameworks to support the requirements of councils and other partners. Taken together, these frame- works account for 34%, or £382m, of the overall value of Scotland Excel’s £1bn contract portfolio.
Over time, its tried and tested approach to forging links with partners has cemented Scotland Excel’s credibility in the construction sector and increased the number and scope of frameworks. Everything the organisation does is developed in Scotland, with and for its members, delivering £7.4m in savings to councils each year along with social and economic benefits for their areas.
One advantage of working with Scotland Excel is the unrivalled scope of its work. It is able to pool its knowledge and work with councils across all contract areas – such as transport, roads, environment and social care – so it can continue to raise the bar on sustainability, community benefits, and economic and social value.
Frameworks initially covered construction materials and tools for local authorities but have expanded over time to encompass eight construction services. They include an innovative framework for demolition services, the first of its kind in Scotland, which supports the regeneration of our towns and cities.
Another is the engineering consultancy framework which responds to the increasing number of City Deals announced across Scotland. This framework helps to support the huge infrastructure investment required and facilitates sustainable economic development. The new build housing framework adds to this evolving portfolio.
Alongside this, there is an energy efficiency contractors’ framework, Scotland Excel’s largest ever contract opportunity. It was designed in partnership with stakeholders to help meet national policy goals of reducing fuel poverty and carbon emissions. The arrangement provides a quick and efficient route to market, enabling access to contractors offering a range of efficiency improvements.
The breadth of the construction portfolio reaches into disparate areas like designing, building, and maintaining outdoor play areas, and supplying furnishings for temporary accommodation. Both actively address a social need by promoting cohesion and social welfare in local communities.
Looking ahead to the next 10 years, Scotland Excel aims to further secure its place in the vanguard of procurement innovation by responding to changing expectations around public service delivery. For example, in response to emerging trends, it is conducting research into district heating systems and into electrical vehicle charging.
About Scotland Excel
Established in 2008, Scotland Excel is the centre of procurement expertise for the local government sector; a non-profit shared service funded by Scotland’s 32 councils. Scotland Excel’s £1bn contract portfolio supports the delivery of social care, construction, roads, trans- port, environment, corporate, education and ICT services, and achieves annual savings of around £15m. Contracts are designed to encourage innovation, facilitate policy, support local economies and generate social value for communities.