SPA will discuss major challenges the housing sector is facing in meeting Scotland’s net zero targets at its AGM on 31 August at its Livingston office.

The event will see presentations from the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (formerly Construction Scotland Innovation Centre) and the Scottish Government, covering topics such as energy efficiency in social housing, fuel poverty and supporting the public sector on its transition to net zero.

As Scotland’s largest free-to-join procurement organisation, SPA will be sharing insight on its achievements and performance over the past year – as well as an overview of the projects delivered through its frameworks and the community benefit projects achieved as a result.

Lesley Anderson, regional director at the Scottish Procurement Alliance, said: “We’ve been working very hard to ensure that this AGM event provides value to those in the public sector who attend.

“To be able to welcome leading members in the sector to share their expertise is also important to ensure key players in the sector are on the same page and pushing in the right direction to overcome the public sector challenges we’re all facing at the moment.

“We’re urging public sector organisations across the board to attend on the day to have valuable discussions and share expertise on what is a crucial time in the sector.”

A series of presentations will be held by the Scottish Government, SFHA and BE-ST on key topics relating to energy efficiency.

The presentations will cover the heat in buildings strategy, energy efficiency standards, investment planning, social landlord initiatives, EPC targets, regulation, and funding streams.

Ms Anderson added: “It’s no surprise that net zero is going to be a major discussion point of the day – and rightly so.

“As part of this discussion, we will be sharing proposals for our energy efficiency framework which will be opening to tender in autumn. Getting feedback from this event will be key in helping us to further shape and cater our frameworks to the current industry needs.

“There is a lot of work to do across public sector projects to ensure we reach these crucial targets and events like this are vital in ensuring stakeholders are on the same page.

“We’re proud of the excellent work the team at SPA have put in over the past 12 months and the day will also provide a brilliant opportunity for us to share some of our own results from the last year.

“We will discuss our plans going forward to continue to support public sector projects and community initiatives, as well as discussing the upcoming rotation of our Executive Committee Partners and the benefits of participating in this.”

Following the AGM, guests will get the opportunity to attend a pre-tender engagement session for SPA’s Energy Efficiency Framework due to launch in early 2024. It will offer crucial insight into the structure and proposed plans for its upcoming framework with an opportunity for key stakeholders to ask questions and provide valuable feedback that will help shape the framework.

SPA works with 120 public sector organisations and its frameworks offer an efficient and compliant route to market for the construction, refurbishment and maintenance of social housing and public buildings. Partners include councils, housing associations, blue light services, the NHS, further and higher education providers and many other public bodies.

Currently, SPA has 600 live projects totalling £1.1bn in contracts covered by its 17 frameworks – from new build housing, modular construction, to asbestos services, energy efficiency and construction consultancy services.

To register for the AGM, click here.