Following the publication of an initial pipeline notice, Hampshire County Council and Devon County Council have published a pre-market engagement notice for SCF6, which launches in May 2027, with procurement beginning in early 2026.
The Authorities are calling on interested suppliers to engage and help shape an initial set of proposals. The sixth-generation framework will be procured over the next 18 months, and will go live from May 2027, when the current SCF-5 arrangement expires.
SCF5 has continued the excellent legacy of the SCF frameworks, procuring over £1.5bn of public sector projects in the last 2 years, encouraging collaboration, early engagement and added value through a full managed framework offering.
The fifth generation of the Southern Construction Framework has already delivered £1.59bn of work, reaching 83% of its turnover target in just over half the framework’s term (54%).
As with previous generations, SCF6 will predominantly support contracting authorities with construction delivery across the South East, South West and London regions, however the new framework will be open to all public sector bodies in England. It is intended to operate for all projects above £1m and will be split into geographic and value based lots.
In recognition of changing market needs, SCF6 will explore the use of single stage and hybrid approaches for certain project values, having previously been exclusively a two-stage procurement route.
Kingsley Clarke, Head of SCF South West, said of the pre-engagement phase: “We encourage potential suppliers to engage with the questionnaire we’re launching today and contribute to shaping the next iteration of the Framework.
“Whilst SCF will always promote and foster early contractor engagement and a collaborative approach to secure the best outcomes for project delivery, we acknowledge that we need to consider being more open to a single stage or hybrid approach to projects of a certain value, and welcome contractor contributions on this and more.”
SCF has traditionally operated on projects over £4m, with both Devon and Hampshire having domestic frameworks supporting the delivery of projects below this value. In the last four years, these domestic arrangements have been brought under the SCF brand. Under SCF6, the Councils intend to combine these procurements, creating efficiencies for the authorities, but to also reduce bidding costs across the supplier base.
James Wright, Head of SCF South East and London, added: “We’re proud of our track record of early contractor engagement, and of the outcomes we’ve been able to achieve in regards to project delivery and social value. We want to continue this collaboration as we move into SCF, and encourage all construction stakeholders, clients, consultants and contractors to complete the survey as well as engage with us on a 1-1 basis to discuss the principles and details.”
The preliminary engagement notice text can be found here.
The survey can be found here.
