The Construction Works and Associated Services commercial agreement will assist central government and the wider public sector to construct, refurbish, repair, demolish and decommission as required across the UK.

The £30 billion framework has been designed by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to run over a seven year period to provide customers and suppliers with the assurances required for long-term projects.

It is a first generation construction framework developed by CCS and has been designed with flexibility in mind to service a range of construction and civil engineering requirements across both central government and the wider public sector.

Prompt payment initiatives and project bank accounts (PBA’s) have been incorporated into the framework to support supply chains. Policy like this is embedded throughout to help sustain and grow the market whatever the size of the organisation but is particularly useful for SMEs and specialist suppliers.

The framework will also support customers and suppliers in addressing key industry objectives as outlined within the Government Construction Strategy, Construction 2025 and Industrial Strategy.

John Welch, CCS’s deputy director for construction, said: “This agreement will support construction and drive industry growth.  Its lotting structure has been designed to maximise opportunities for all sizes of company and that includes SMEs, which play a key role in UK construction. For example, standardised payment terms and other fair payment objectives are embedded within the framework scope. This agreement also facilitates the use of digitisation in construction and promotes the use of innovative solutions via modern methods of construction.”

This agreement reflects a wider CCS strategy to provide customers with ‘whole life’, asset to operate solutions which link design, construction and maintenance as a combined service offering.

Suppliers interested in bidding for this opportunity have to register on the CCS eSourcing system. Instructions on how to access the CCS eSourcing system can be viewed along with the tender documentation by visiting the project webpage.

The tender period went live on January 31. A bidders’ day will take place on February 8, details are provided within the OJEU Contract Notice.