New framework aims to save public sector more than £5 million over next four years

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has launched a new estates and facilities framework that enables public sector organisations across England to access a range of specialist services.

The Hard Facilities Management framework has an estimated value of £100 million and is free to access for NHS and other public bodies.

The ready-to-use contracts, which run until 2021, allow hospitals, GP practices, schools and local authorities, as well as any public sector organisation, to purchase some of the essential services they need to function safely and efficiently in a quick and cost-effective way.

The launch of the new Hard Facilities Management framework means that NHS SBS now provides a complete Estates and Facilities portfolio to the public sector. The other contract frameworks that are immediately available in this area are Modular Buildings, Construction Consultancy Services and Soft Facilities Management.

The latest framework agreement adds to NHS SBS’s comprehensive estates and facilities portfolio, providing a legally-compliant route to market for Hard Facilities Management service lines. It includes 45 lots, covering everything rom building management systems and removal services to fire safety equipment and training.

Following a robust procurement process, which included upfront financial checks and evaluation of quality assurance, 85 supplies were awarded a place on the framework across the different lots.

The negotiated contracts are OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) compliant, which means framework users can choose to make direct purchases from a listed supplied, or run mini-tenders as per their individual requirements.

In total, NHS SBS manages over 100 framework agreements that cover a huge range of products and services used by the NHS and wider public sector. These are available quickly through carefully negotiated contracts which achieve economies of scale cost savings without compromising on quality.

Peter Akid, NHS SBS director of procurement, said: “The new Hard Facilities Management framework was developed to allow public sector organisations to buy essential goods and services in a way that, not only saves them time and money, but also guarantees they are fully complying with complex UK and EU procurement legislation.

“We expect around £100 million of spend to go through the framework over the next four years, which represents a potential cost saving to the public sector of over £5 million. This is due to the fact our framework users usually expect to save a minimum of five per cent compared with purchasing directly from a supplier.

“Those organisations buying via the framework will benefit from competitive rates, fixed pricing and NHS standard terms and conditions. It also provides a level of flexibility to meet different organisations’ individual needs – through the inclusion of both national and SME suppliers, as well as various options around a single, bundled or managed hard facilities service.”