Scottish firms given massive opportunity to tackle housing targets

A wide range of businesses have secured a place on a major nine-figure framework that will enable the modernisation and improvement of Scotland’s public sector buildings and social housing.

It follows a competitive process after the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) invited businesses throughout Scotland to tender for works, as part of its Refurbishment and Modernisation framework, known as RM3.

The 21 successful organisations now have the potential to be awarded contracts directly and through mini competitions worth up to £100m combined value, on work that upgrades and maintains a broad array of social housing and public facilities.

Lesley Anderson, Regional Director for SPA, Scotland’s largest free-to-join procurement organisation said: “We’re constantly seeking ways to help further support the public sector in improving their homes and buildings while ensuring an environmental focus is at the heart of every step.

“This framework will empower councils, social landlords, the NHS, and various organisations to efficiently and cost-effectively maintain and upgrade buildings, ensuring they offer warm and comfortable living spaces.”

RM3 will support organisations across a range of works, from kitchen and bathroom upgrades, electrical installations to painting and decorating, environmental and external works. It can also support multi-disciplinary projects supporting a range of areas including adaptations, roofing, and mould prevention.

Broken up into five workstreams, the framework offers various value bands to open opportunities to SMEs across a spectrum of refurbishment projects, with specific value ranges within these workstreams enabling a variety of projects to be delivered with no value restriction.

Lesley added: “RM3 was created through extensive engagement and feedback from public sector organisations and supply chain while also gaining insight and knowledge achieved from the four other regions within our group enabling us to understand requirements from both a local and national perspective.

“Each of our solutions delivers fantastic value and simplifies the procurement process for our partners.

“We have been fortunate with RM3 to be able to provide opportunities that not only offer financial advantages to a diverse array of firms but also boost local economies.

“This is a great opportunity for the appointed companies to contribute meaningfully to improving housing and building standards at a crucial time.”

SPA’s RM3 framework has awarded places to 22 companies across several regions, including Eastern Scotland, West Central Scotland, Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East and North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and Highlands and Islands.

SPA works with 120+ partners across the public sector, including small cooperatives, RSLs, and local authorities, and partners with over 250 suppliers ranging from micro companies to national firms all capable of providing crucial support services.

A not-for-profit organisation, SPA directs its surpluses to local communities through the Community Benefit Fund (CBF) in partnership with Lintel Trust. SPA currently has 553 live projects valued at over £1bn, supporting 250 suppliers.

Since its inception in 2017, the CBF has distributed more than £2m in grants and match funding to assist over 100 community groups, charities, and various causes, generating a social value exceeding £5.1m.

Businesses represented on the RM3 framework: