There has been plenty of positive action in the Scottish public sector procurement market recently, particularly for local authority tenders. With the lack of affordable housing for first-time buyers continually making news headlines, the Scottish Government has released ┬г3 billion to local authorities and housing associations to support the delivery of 50,000 new homes by 2021, including 35,000 for social rent.
This huge investment is expected to drive the Scottish economy onward, with an output of around ┬г1.4 billion per year helping local communities with 12,000 jobs. This isnтАЩt the only good news, either. Scotland Excel, the leading non-profit Centre of Procurement Expertise, is directly working with councils to build tender opportunities that are socially, economically and environmentally beneficial to all parties involved.
The new ┬г1.5 billion social housing framework
Earlier this month, Scotland Excel announced a ┬г1.5 billion framework for building new residential housing. This is the companyтАЩs largest contract ever, with the 19 suppliers on the framework all paying the Scottish Living Wage to their employees. The contractors have also promised to use local and sustainable materials wherever possible, thereby meeting the requirements of ScotlandтАЩs Procurement Reform Act (2014) and its objective of contractors and buyers giving back to the community. These local authority tenders are set to deliver more employment and training opportunities, supporting collaboration between councils and the communities they serve.
The director of Scotland Excel, Julie Welsh, reflected this goal in her statement: тАЬBoth councils and housing associations are locally focused organisations that want the best for their communities, and we can achieve this through community benefits in national frameworks.тАЭ
Tender opportunities across Scotland
Opportunities in local authority tenders are increasing across Scotland for the construction industry. Councillors in the Shetland Isles have approved spending an extra ┬г1.75 million on refurbishing local ferry terminals. Being a remote island group, the Shetlands rely heavily on ferry services for supplies; this refurbishment has been a priority for the council for some time.
This additional ┬г1.75 million comes on top of the ┬г2 million the council had already budgeted for the project. The construction work will cover 13 terminal linkspans, including material for a drawbridge to allow vehicles on and off ferries.
These exciting developments and others will run in tandem with the ┬г600 billion that the UK Government is investing in infrastructure nationally over the next ten years. This is a great period to get a slice of the action.
Win more local authority tenders with Tracker
This is a great time to find, bid for and win more tenders across the public and private sector in Scotland and the UK. Tracker holds the largest tenders and awards database in Europe, with tender opportunities available across a number of industry sectors in healthcare, construction, education and more.
