Guidance

Crown Commercial Service update: May 2018

Published 10 May 2018

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crown-commercial-service-update-may-2018/crown-commercial-service-update-may-2018

1. GDPR contract update

For anyone using CCS’ travel contracts and commercial agreements, such as RM3735 Crown Travel and Venue Services and RM6016 Public Sector Travel and Venue Solutions; there is no action required to vary your Enabling Agreement to ensure you are GDPR compliant.

CCS will agree the appropriate variation to the relevant Terms and Conditions, which will then automatically apply to your Enabling Agreement.

If you have any queries regarding specific Contracts and Commercial Agreements, please contact the relevant Category Team.

2. Permanent Recruitment OJEU contract notice published

An OJEU contract notice has been published for Permanent Recruitment (RM6002). The new commercial agreement, which has been developed in conjunction with stakeholders across central government and the wider public sector, is expected to be available from August 2018.

It will provide permanent recruitment services for a range of role types including administrative, commercial, finance, digital, property, data and technology, HR, marketing, executive and talent research.

As part of the value added services available through the General Legal Advice Services framework (RM3786), suppliers offer a number of free training days to central government customers.

This resource is separate from the mandatory training organised by the Government Legal Department, and offers departments the opportunity to receive bespoke legal services training, tailored to their specific needs. Currently popular subject matters include GDPR, procurement processes and Brexit.

There are still training days available, so if your department is interested in taking advantage of this invaluable free resource, please complete this online form stating ‘free legal training’ in the comments box and providing details of the subject matter that is of interest to you, your location(s), attendee numbers and the dates/duration of your requirements.

4. Management consultancy update

The OJEU contract notice for Management Consultancy Framework 2 (RM6008) has recently been published and the new commercial agreement is expected to award in August. Services will be offered across 4 lots:

  • Business consultancy
  • Procurement, supply chain and commercial consultancy
  • Complex and transformation consultancy
  • Strategic consultancy

The new agreement will complement the Management Consultancy Framework (RM3745), which is available now, providing you with access to expert professional support in:

  • Finance
  • Audit
  • HR
  • Health and community
  • Education
  • Infrastructure
  • ICT and digital

The framework also provides you with:

  • Detailed templates to help you run a further competition
  • Pre-agreed terms and conditions
  • Flexible pricing mechanisms (based on time and material, fixed or gain share)
  • Flexible further competition criteria
  • A wide choice of suppliers with over 50% SMEs

We are planning to host webinars for customers interested in using the frameworks, so if you would be interested in joining us please get in touch and let us know what topics you’d like us to cover. Simply mention ‘consultancy webinars’ in the comments box.

In the meantime, we have also developed this Frequently asked questions document that you might find helpful.

If there is a consultancy requirement we can help you with right now please get in touch.

5. Learn more about running a further competition

Watch our short how-to guide that explains what is involved when running a further competition. We are also running a webinar on 23 May, where you can find out more details.

Find out more and sign up to our webinar.

6. How we’re improving our customer service for you

We’ve been working hard to shape this new service to ensure it meets your needs and that CCS is easy to do business with – not just for today but also when planning ahead for the future.

Last year the customer service centre received more than 185,000 enquiries:

  • 91% of these were resolved at first point of contact
  • 94% of calls were answered within 60 seconds
  • 90% of email enquiries were responded to within 24 hours

What we’ve done this past year:

We’ve recruited the best people into the team, bringing together a wealth of customer service experience from a wide range of roles and sectors.

We delivered an extensive training programme to everyone in the team, covering all products and services and equipping our customer service advisors and subject matter experts with the right level of knowledge and understanding of procurement processes.

We’ve been getting to know our customers better, finding out what you think about our services – what we’re doing well and areas we can improve. Last year we received more than 1,000 responses to our customer survey, and whilst our Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +36 indicates that we are providing a good service, your feedback is the key driver behind the development of a clear customer service strategy that will shape our service further.

You can now contact our centralised customer service centre via:

Find out more

7. Unlock savings on your Utilities and Fuels with our NEW demand management framework

Would you like to save money on your Utilities & Fuels? By getting a better understanding of your consumption data and accessing a range of supporting services, you can identify waste and take steps to reduce your usage and save money on your bills.

Our new Utilities Management Software, Metering and Ancillary Services framework (RM3800) provides a full end-to-end data management service which allows you to manage your demand and unlock savings. Suitable for use across water, fuels and energy, RM3800 focuses on three core areas:

  • Data collection - accurate and frequent consumption data from meters
  • Utilities Management Software - all your utilities data on one single platform for simple visualisation and analysis
  • Utilities Bureau Service - access to specialist providers in the market to analyse data and extract value on your behalf

Unlock savings now - get in touch to find out more

7.1 Our Digital Services Team need your help

As part of government’s ongoing process of digitisation, Crown Commercial Service’s Digital Services Team have a commitment to making all of our services simple, efficient and easy to use – making the experience of working with us the best it can be. To achieve this goal, we are seeking participants for our user research: people who can tell us what works well, their frustrations and pain points with our current service, and what features and functions could improve our services in the future.

If you would be interested in taking part, please fill out this Google Form. Your data will be kept secure and will never be passed on – we’ll only use it to contact you about taking part in research.

Your feedback will play a direct role in improving our services, both now and in the future – we’re looking forward to hearing from you!

8. Aggregation opportunities

8.1 Fleet

If you have requirements to buy or lease vehicles don’t forget the closing date to get involved in the next fleet eAuction is 23 May. By using standardised vehicle specifications and our bulk buying power to make your requirements more attractive to suppliers, we have found our eAuctions can help customers save as much as 40% on manufacturer’s retail price. The eAuction will be held at the start of July and orders will need to be placed within 3 months, with a typical delivery lead time of 12 weeks. To find out more please get in touch – simply tick the aggregation box and quote Fleet eAuctions.

Want to learn more about how our free to use aggregation service works? Watch our short film

9. Technology webinars

We all know that the technology landscape is fast-paced and constantly evolving. Whether you are an experienced tech buyer or new to this area, our upcoming webinars are a great way to hear from our commercial specialists and ensure that you are getting the best solution for your organisation.

Technology Services 2

Covering everything from operational services through to transition and transformation. Join us for this overview of the Tech Services 2 framework covering what you can buy and how you can buy it.

Register 30 May 10:30am

Network Services

Networks remain fundamental for the successful delivery of public services. Join us for this overview of the Network Services framework, covering how to buy a variety of services, from mobile connections to wide area network connections.

Register 7 June 14:00pm

10. Upcoming events

10.1 Civil Service Live - registration opened on 26 April

Civil Service Live is the government’s annual, cross-department learning event, attracting thousands of civil servants to learn, network and share best practice - with the ultimate goal of providing better public service.

The agenda and registration will open for delegates from Wednesday 26 April at www.civilservicelive.com

The conferences offer engaging, interactive and thought provoking sessions, led by dynamic, expert and inspirational speakers, and this year the event is focused on the themes of the Civil Service vision - A Brilliant Civil Service.

It is a great development opportunity, designed to motivate civil servants to continue to adopt the vision and demonstrate leadership so make sure you reserve your place at your chosen venue:

  • Thursday 7 June: SEC Centre, Glasgow
  • Wednesday 13 June: NEC, Birmingham
  • Wednesday 27 June: Winter Gardens, Blackpool
  • Thursday 5 July: City Hall, Cardiff
  • Thursday 12 July: St James’ Park, Newcastle
  • Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 July: QEII Centre, London

If you would like to find out more about the events and sponsorship, speaking or exhibition opportunities please email customer.service@dodsgroup.com or call 020 7593 5500.

10.2 Construction Works Agreement – Customer Engagement Webinar

CCS are continuing to engage with the market, and more specifically, potential customers of the new Construction Works Contractors agreement which has been projected to be worth £30bn over a potential 7 year period.

The framework is being developed to support public bodies to build, maintain and dispose of their buildings. It will be longer term than other CCS commercial agreements, to account for the length and complexity of some major projects within the Government pipeline. It is being developed to support delivery of the Government Construction Strategy and Industrial Strategy.

The webinar will take place on Monday 4th June at 10:45 am and will cover the following:

  • Strategy update
  • A Finalised lotting structure
  • A Finalised scope of service
  • A Summary of engagement outputs

If you would like to attend the webinar, please register here.

10.3 CCS at the Public Sector Show

We are delighted to be returning as a key supporter of the Public Sector Show on 26 June at ExCeL London.

The Public Sector Show is a must-attend event for anyone responsible for procurement in central and local government, as well as the wider public sector. Meet with over 130 leading suppliers of solutions and products designed to save money and deliver better public services.

Join our CEO Malcolm Harrison in the State of the Public Sector theatre at the Public Sector Show where he will be delivering a keynote on transforming public sector procurement. We will also have our own seminar theatre at the show hosting a series of thought-leadership sessions around key themes of public sector procurement.

A number of CCS framework suppliers will be exhibiting at the show, providing you with an ideal opportunity to meet them in person, learn about their products and solutions, and even see demonstrations.

Key themes this year are workforce and leadership, corporate and finance, digital and technology, and estates and infrastructure. Find out more

Register for free

11. Latest case studies

Take a look at all our case studies to see how we have been helping our customers and suppliers.

12. New Framework

13. Frameworks expiring shortly

14. Recently expired frameworks

15. Framework extensions

16.1 Mystery Shopper results

You can 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.

16.2 Procurement policy

If you are looking for public procurement policy guidance please take a look at our public procurement policy page

Looking for a particular procurement policy note? View the collection of all procurement policy notes.

16.3 Procurement tools

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.

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 customer service team on 0345 410 2222

You can also follow us on Twitter and connect with us on LinkedIn.

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