From programmes of repair and maintenance to major refurbishment and new-build projects, CCS is helping local authorities bring power to their construction procurement.
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) plays an important role in helping the UK public sector save money when buying common goods and services.
We’re the biggest public procurement organisation in the UK. We use our commercial expertise to help buyers in local government and across the public and third sectors to purchase products and services through our frameworks, covering everything from fire extinguishers and laptops to school buildings and even advertising space.
The collective purchasing power of our customers, plus our procurement knowledge, means we can get the best commercial deals in the interests of taxpayers, saving you and your organisation both time and money.
| We focus on saving you time and money on procurement allowing you to get on with what matters most, providing the best possible outcomes for your local communities |
How CCS is supporting local authorities
We know that local authorities are under pressure to make their budgets work harder.
Effective procurement is becoming more important for local government as demand for services increases, while resources are reduced year on year. By working with CCS you can take some of the pressure off. We focus on saving you time and money on procurement allowing you to get on with what matters most, providing the best possible outcomes for your local communities.
We work with individual local authority colleagues, regional and national sector networks across the UK, as well as important stakeholders such as the Local Government Association to support the sector.
Along with the opportunity to work with our category experts, you’ll be supported throughout the buying process to ensure you make the most of every pound spent.
What is a framework and what benefits can they bring to public sector buyers?
CCS frameworks help public and third sector buyers to procure goods and services from a list of pre-approved suppliers, with agreed terms and conditions and legal protections.
They can remove the need for customers to run their own lengthy and expensive tender processes.
Frameworks are often divided into ‘lots’ by product or service type. The number of suppliers differs from framework to framework, depending on what is being offered. Some frameworks have only one supplier offering complex, end to end services, while others are designed to be open to thousands of potential bidders.
Once awarded, frameworks run for a given timeframe, usually between one to four years, after which they are re-tendered, giving new suppliers the chance to bid to join them.
What can you buy through a framework?
There are literally tens of thousands of common goods and services available through CCS frameworks.
Goods include physical items — from building materials to technology products; from office equipment to printing devices.
Services range from legal expertise to teams of digital experts; from construction project managers to financial solutions.
What protections do frameworks give?
Frameworks can help you identify a list of suitable suppliers who have signed up to pre-agreed terms and conditions.
Suppliers may be asked to prove that they have achieved relevant qualifications, that they hold specific kinds of insurance, and that they can provide evidence of successful performance on similar contracts.
This means all you need to do is follow the award process in the contract or in the customer guidance that CCS provides for its frameworks.
Supporting your construction work projects
We know local authorities undertake a significant volume of construction work each year ranging from programmes of repair and maintenance to major refurbishment and new-build projects across a host of different sectors including schools, social care, infrastructure and highways.
We understand your buying decisions have the power to drive how effective and efficient your construction work projects are. That is why we’re continuously developing new and innovative solutions through our frameworks.
We offer the largest number of construction commercial agreements in the country, driving industry change in support of the Government’s construction strategy. They include flexible procurement and contract options and we have a team packed full of industry experience, from multiple sectors and all tiers of the supply chain, to support our customers.
| We offer the largest number of construction commercial agreements in the country, driving industry change in support of the Government’s construction strategy. |
Our construction category agreements include all of the policy areas set out in the Construction Playbook putting us in a great position to support you at any stage of your project, and giving you the assurance that you are contributing to a more robust and sustainable industry, which can help the economy to grow.
Our frameworks have social value at their core, to ensure that what you buy creates additional benefits for society, whether that is creating more apprenticeships for young people or assuring supply chains are free from modern slavery.
CCS decarbonisation solutions have been designed to help you work towards your net zero targets. Our category experts are on hand to guide you through what you can do.
To find out more, visit the CCS website or download our digital brochure. For news and updates straight to your inbox, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
