Guidance

Crown Commercial Service customer update: June 2016

Published 29 June 2016

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crown-commercial-service-update-june-2016/crown-commercial-service-customer-update-june-2016

1. Overview

The monthly customer update from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) provides government and public sector buyers with the latest information about developments in procurement policy, the range of CCS agreements available, new commercial agreements being developed, training opportunities and events.

2. EU referendum - implications for public procurement regulations

Following the outcome of the EU referendum we have received a number of questions from our customers and suppliers about what the implications will be for our public procurement regulations. At this point it is too early for us to say what the longer-term implications will be but it is important to state that the current rules will continue to apply until the UK has left the EU, following the successful conclusion of exit negotiations. We are considering the longer term opportunities and will be advising Ministers. In the meantime, CCS remains focussed on delivering value for money for our customers and the taxpayer.

3. CCS annual business plan

We have published our annual business plan for 2016/17. This sets out our ambitious plans to help government departments and the wider public sector achieve further commercial benefits and savings from their spend on common goods and services in the year ahead. The plan reaffirms our commitment to effective service delivery and in delivering the government’s objectives on procurement policy. This includes increasing the volume of government spend with SMEs and implementing planned measures to support economic growth. You can also read about how we plan to improve our commercial capability and operational efficiency during the year, including through the completion of our Operational Review and delivery of an ambitious Digital Transformation Programme. The document sets out CCS’ plans for the Crown Marketplace (CMp) programme - a new digital platform for our customers to access our great deals.

Read the annual business plan 2016/17

4. Take part in our aggregated further competition for Vehicle Telematics (RM3754)

We are planning our first national aggregated further competition for Vehicle Telematics (NFC57) and would like to invite your organisation to join this procurement.

Aggregating demand provides several advantages including:

  • Savings - benefit from combining your requirements with other organisations to increase savings opportunities
  • More consistent application of best practice through collaboration
  • Simpler tender process, leading to reduced procurement costs for buyers and reduced bidding costs for suppliers
  • Reduced project management and contract management costs

Our recent competitions for Vehicle Hire and Technology Products resulted in anticipated price savings of 12% and 36% respectively over the life of the contracts.

NFC57 will include goods and services within the scope of Vehicle Telematics Lot 1 (Fleet). Vehicle telematics supports the whole life cost management of vehicles by providing live, operational data. The data obtained enables fleet managers to monitor things like fuel consumption, vehicle tracking and driver behaviour.

You will benefit from combining your requirements with those of other organisations, as the more organisations that participate the greater the savings are likely to be.

The key milestones for this project are outlined below, however they may be subject to change depending on the number of organisations that take part:

July 2016: gathering expressions of interest from customers and compiling customer requirements August 2016: finalising customer requirements September - October 2016: Carry out further competition under Lot 1 November 2016: award to winning bidder and customers enter into contract

Next steps

If you would like to register your interest in participating or have any questions please email technologyaggregation@crowncommerical.gov.uk

The deadline for submitting your requirements is 9 Aug 2016.

5. Procurement tool targets bid-rigging cheats

Procurement professionals can now be better equipped to stop bid-rigging with the launch of an eLearning package created by CCS and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It is designed to help procurers and supply chain professionals understand why bid-rigging is harmful, learn how to spot the signs that suggest a bid may be illegal, deal with suspect bids and know where to go for help.

The CMA has written an open letter to procurers to explain the issues and draw their attention to the new tool. There is also a 60-second summary and video to provide further information and advice. The package is also being made available to their members by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) and the Local Government Association (LGA). Read the full press release

6. Procurement policy

6.1 Procurement policy note 06/16: Armed Forces Covenant

Public sector organisations are being encouraged to promote the Armed Forces Covenant with their suppliers through their procurement activity, and encourage them to sign up to the covenant. By signing up to the covenant suppliers must be proactive in supporting veterans, and service spouses/partners, by being flexible to their needs when recruiting and during employment.

The covenant, which is non-binding, also encourages active participation in local and national activities such as Armed Forces Day and with local cadets.

This new policy note sets out how the covenant can be taken into account in public procurement and includes suggested text that can be used in Invitation To Tender documents.

View policy note

6.2 Procurement policy note 05/16: Open book contract management

This procurement policy note will help you use open book contract management in a fair way depending on the risk level and complexity of the contract. View policy note

6.3 Concession Contracts Regulations

Guidance on the new Concession Contracts Regulations has been published. View guidance

Looking for additional public procurement policy guidance? View our public procurement policy page
Looking for a particular procurement policy note? View the collection of all procurement policy notes

7. Mystery Shopper scheme

The Mystery Shopper scheme allows suppliers to report public sector tenders they did not understand or instances of what they believe to be poor procurement practice. View the latest Mystery Shopper results to see how the scheme is helping to improve procurement practices across the public sector and support our ambition to make doing business with government as easy as possible for small businesses.

8. NHS Improvement price caps for agency staff

We’re pleased to confirm that the NHS Improvement price caps are now contractually embedded in all 5 of our approved agency staffing frameworks. Framework suppliers have formally signed up to contract variations to ensure:

  • NHS Improvement price caps are contractually embedded
  • An override mechanism is available, allowing NHS trusts to stay ‘on framework’ if they need to go over the price cap to ensure patient safety - but only where written permission has been given

To find out more about our NHS Improvement approved frameworks visit our dedicated web page, where you can also download a copy of our brochure.

For advice and guidance on using our agency staffing frameworks and hands-on support to help you achieve savings please email healthdo@crowncommercial.gov.uk

9. Civil Service Live 2016

We have been attending Civil Service Live 2016 events throughout June, presenting a series of workshops on commercial as a profession. The events are designed to help civil servants and organisations to share best practice and innovation across government. The final 2 events will take place in July:

  • Tuesday 5 July, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff
  • Tuesday 12 and 13 July, Queen Elizabeth II Centre, London

Register as a delegate

10. Events

10.1 Software licensing

The next software licensing webinar will cover:

  • spotlight on Microsoft Server and Cloud Enrolment
  • choosing a Hypervisor - a commercial view
  • license transfer rights for public sector organisations

It will take place on 5 July at 2.30pm and be repeated on 8 July at 10.30am. To register please click on the link for your preferred date.

10.2 G-Cloud

We run regular webinars for customers interested in learning more about G-Cloud, the Digital Marketplace and the buying process. The next webinar will be on 13 July at 10.30am. The session will last about an hour and include a presentation and Q&A session.

It may be of interest to you if you are looking to buy commodity based, pay-as-you-go cloud services.

If you cannot make this date, the next sessions are scheduled for 10:30am on:

  • 10 August
  • 14 September
  • 12 October
  • 9 November

To register for a webinar email cloud_digital@crowncommercial.gov.uk with your choice of date.

10.3 Customer briefings: a better way to buy Network Services

In partnership with Innopsis, we’ve been hosting a series of briefings on using the Network Services (RM1045) agreement. The events showcase how buyers and suppliers can work together to achieve best value and enter into contracts.

The final 2 events for buyers are:

11. New agreements

The following agreements are now live and available for customers to use:

  • Specialist Laundry Services (RM3772) provides cost-effective and quality controlled laundry services for CE marked barrier textiles such as surgical theatre textiles, drapes and gowns.
  • Crown Office Supplies (RM3723) is based on a core list of standard specification products covering stationery, paper and electronic office supplies. It is open to all public sector organisations and is expected to help customers save over £20 million this financial year.
  • Digital Outcomes and Specialists (RM1043iii) is now live on the Digital Marketplace
  • Language Services (RM1092) provides public sector customers with access to a wide range of interpreting and translation services, covering 250 different languages and dialects, from 13 suppliers - over 75% of which are SMEs.
  • Vehicle Telematics (RM3754) is a brand new agreement which has been developed to help organisations manage their fleets more effectively by improving safety and efficiency through the use of telematics technology.
  • Corporate Finance Services (RM3719) has also recently awarded and is expected to be available from early July.

12. New contract notices

The following contract notices for new procurements have recently been published and are available for supplier applications:

You can view details of all ongoing or planned procurements on our procurement pipeline.

13. Agreements expiring shortly

  • Traffic Management Technology (RM869) will expire on 10 July. We are developing a replacement agreement and expect to publish the OJEU contract notice shortly, with the new agreement in place by late September 2016. As this will create a short gap in service provision, we are advising customers to either bring forward or defer placing orders so as not to fall inside the gap. If you have any questions please email to TMT@crowncommercial.gov.uk
  • Local Authority Software Applications (RM1059) is due to expire on 3 August and we are considering a 12 month extension to ensure continuity of service.
  • Occupational Health Services and Employee Assistance Programmes (RM932) is due to expire on 3 October. We are currently developing a replacement agreement which is expected to be in place in early 2017. To ensure continuity of service during the development of the new agreement, you may wish to consider your options to extend if you have an existing contract. The latest date your contract can be extended until is 3 October 2017.
  • Furniture and Associated Services (RM1501) is due to expire on 16 December. We recommend that you consider extending your existing contract and, where appropriate, bring forward any future requirements, as we are currently reviewing our construction strategy and there will be a gap in service provision whilst a new agreement is developed. If you would like to join our customer stakeholder group to help develop the replacement agreement please email property@crowncommercial.gov.uk

14. Agreement extensions

15. Recently expired agreements

16. CCS on social media

We share regular news and updates throughout the month on Twitter and LinkedIn so if you are not already following us why not take a minute to do so now? You can follow us on Twitter and connect with us on LinkedIn

17. Sign up for email alerts

You can sign up for immediate, daily or weekly email alerts which will tell you what we have added or updated on the GOV.UK website. It is a great way to stay up to date with the latest news and information from CCS. Sign up for email alerts by providing your email address and selecting the frequency you wish to receive updates.

eSourcing log on

eMarketplace log on

If you use these tools frequently why not save them to your favourites for easy access? Not yet registered? Find out how to register:

If you need further information about anything in this update please do not hesitate to contact us by email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk or call our helpdesk on 0345 410 2222 You can also follow us on Twitter and connect with us on LinkedIn

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