Procurement resources

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Social value in public procurement

Specimen contract clause on payment terms

In the event that the Supplier, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, enters into a supply contract or a sub-contract in connection with this Agreement, the Supplier shall ensure that a term is included in the supply contract or sub-contract which requires the Supplier to pay all sums due there under to the sub-contractor within a specified period, not to exceed thirty (30) days, from the date of receipt of a valid invoice as defined by the terms of the supply contract or sub-contract (as appropriate).

Construction procurement resources

National construction category strategy 2018

The second edition of the construction category strategy was launched in 2018 and outlines how councils can facilitate better value solutions that can be achieved through lower capital costs and more efficient procurement. This is particularly important given recent major public sector supplier collapse.

Market intelligence

NACF have now updated their popular market intelligence maps that show data captured annually on projects over £1 million, including current market trends and other market factors that are important to budgets and awareness of project delivery.

New models of construction procurement

In 2014, UK government issued some draft guidance on new models of construction procurement, based on best practice in public sector construction.

The guidance is in three parts and covers:

• two stage open book
• cost-led procurement
• integrated project assurance.

Learn more about new models of construction procurement 

Construction case studies and other resources

• Cluster working: Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Reading councils used a two-stage open book process to trial cluster working on 22 individual projects with a total budget of around £119 million. They hope to aggregate savings of 14 per cent of the total cost by standardising on design approaches, aggregating and driving efficiency through the supply chain. For more information see the case study here. 
• Using procurement to tackle poverty: Birmingham City Council's employment action team set out to use public procurement to address poverty through training and employment.
• Use of BIM: Trafford Borough Council were keen to implement the use of BIM on Springfield Primary School, a contract worth some £4.2 million. The main BIM objective was the early completion of design information to allow early engagement with the supply chain and increase opportunities for further collaboration with specialist subcontractors. For more information on how the council saved £80,000 through use of BIM with the whole supply chain see here.

The National Skills Academy for Construction

This client-based approach provides a toolkit to deliver employment, apprenticeships and training for public sector clients through their construction projects, planning policy and development control. It provides model documentation, benchmarks, case studies
and practical commentary. Based on successful National Skills Academy for Construction projects, the guidance includes all necessary components to deliver apprenticeships, employment and training opportunities on any type and size of construction project.

Case studies