Procuring for construction

Tendering for construction and hard FM projects (typically known as works) can be costly and complex for providers. The following therefore gives some insight to the criteria we may ask as part of the process. This is always subject to change dependent on the specific project, with the detail always to be found in the tender documentation.

Constructionline or equivalent

 We state basic criteria in our documents which a provider is required to meet regarding live online pre-qualification data. This is common in the industry. Successful providers are therefore required to hold a ‘gold’ accreditation under Constructionline. We will always accept equivalents.

Completing tender documents can become repetitive, and the membership of such a body will allow exemptions against the mandatory (Build UK) Common Assessment Standard (CAS) pre-qualification criteria found in our tender documents. For information, the Cabinet Office confirmed that from the 27 June 2024 the PAS91 standard would be abolished in favour of tender documents presenting the CAS criteria.

Health & Safety - Safety Schemes in Procurement ('SSIP')

Successful providers who engage in property maintenance, construction and some areas of facilities management should be positively accredited by a registered member of the Safety Schemes in Procurement (‘SSIP’) for the management of health and safety. Our tenders often mandate this for these categories, and it is therefore highly recommended that providers seek early advice upfront in the application process for the accreditation. SSIP is not uncommon in general local authority tenders and we are among many authorities who ask for this.

In regard to SSIP accreditation there are various bodies (e.g., CHAS or equivalent) who can perform this required industry-standard health and safety accreditation.

Insurance

For most works-type agreement, we request a standard set of minimum insurance requirements, typically public liability £5m and employers liability £10m. Professional indemnity may feature in an agreement and, where set, may be around £5m for works agreements. NOTE – these values may change depending on the procurement project.