Government construction tender news

The Queen announced the government’s legislative agenda for 2021/22 and four bills that will impact government construction tenders. Almost 16% of UK construction spend is by the public sector.

The government have the current initiative of build back better in response to COVID-19 recovery. It sets out the significant investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation that levels up the UK. It is with the hope of transitioning towards net-zero ambitions.

Below are four key bills that are relevant to government construction contracts in the UK.

1. Building Safety Bill

The Building Safety Bill will make considerable reforms to the UK’s building safety regime. It will establish a Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to deliver a new approach to regulating the built environment. The Building Safety Bill will be critical to any construction project and government construction tenders.

The BSR will have the power to withdraw materials of products from the UK market. They can withdraw those that they deem to fall short of set safety standards, regulating the market. There will also be three “gateways” introduced at higher risk buildings at least 18 meters or 6 storeys high.

The three gateways are the:

• Design Stage – prior to granted planning permission, the BSR will consult stakeholders to assess various design matters. These could be fire safety and water supply for example.
• Construction Stage – The client will submit evidence to the BSR showing all building regulations relating to construction have been complied with.
• Management Stage – the client will submit as built building information to the BSR. This information will include emergency safety and fire files and updated plans.

2. Environment Bill

The Environment Bill will obviously put the environment at the centre of the policy. The government has made considerable promises towards greener and more sustainable construction practices that are evident within government construction tenders.

The Environment Bill will introduce a framework for legally binding environmental targets, establishing a new independent Office for Environmental Protection. This further reinstates the current mandatory weighting on social value within government construction tenders. This minimum 10% social value weighting assesses the environmental, social and economic aspects of a tender.

The Bill will focus on reducing waste and revolutionise how we recycle, enhancing local powers to tackle environmental issues. These include pollution, securing water supplies and protecting nature to improve biodiversity.

3. Planning Bill

The Planning Bill will create a faster, simpler and more modern planning system. It’s to replace the current one, Section 106, that dates back to 1947. Instead, the Infrastructure Levy will be introduced. The plan is to deliver vital infrastructure whilst at the same time protect the nearby environment. This is likely to affect planning tenders and government construction tenders.

There will be an introduction of simpler and quicker frameworks. This will be for funding infrastructure that assesses environmental impacts and opportunities. A traffic light system will be introduced with the UK divided up by local councils. Areas will be designated for either:

• Growth
• Protection
• Renewal

4. Procurement Bill

The Procurement Bill is probably the most relevant to government construction tenders. It will simplify procurement within the public sector, reforming the current regime. This will make public procurement even more accessible for SMEs, charitable and social enterprises. It hopes to encourage a more competitive and level playing field, allowing them to win public contracts.

The Queen outlines the government’s plans to replace the seven current procurement procedures with three:

• Competitive Flexible Procedure
• Open Procedure
• Negotiated Procedure to be renamed as the Limited Tendering Procedure.

These new procedures will come into place in September 2021, hoping to improve transparency within public procurement.

Need assistance when writing your next government construction tenders?

It’s understandable that you may not always have the resources, time or experience to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help you win your next tender, securing a pipeline of work for your business.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win more government construction contracts. Whether you’ve never tendered before or need your response proofread before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

• A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
• Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
• An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
• Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect construction tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I find government construction tenders?

Finding the right construction tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. Keeping track and checking daily can turn into a full-time job. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal hosting exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

Below are previous government construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Lift Maintenance, Services & Repairs ITT

St Albans City & District Council- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Scunthorpe, Burringham Road, Manor Park

North Lincolnshire Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Fixed Electrical Wiring Test and Inspection – Port of Ramsgate and The Royal Harbour

Thanet District Council- South East- Budget: £46,000

Quick Quote – New Flooring to the Victoria Pier, Sea Terminal Building

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Contract for Supply & Installation of New Play Equipment for Parrys Park / Grosvenor Heights

City & County of Swansea- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

• Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
• An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about government construction tenders.
• A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
• Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
• 20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

• Civil Engineering Tenders
• Health & Safety Tenders
• Cable Laying Tenders
• Structural Engineering Tenders
• Electrical Tenders
• Building Works
• Joinery Tenders
• Architectural Tenders
• Refurbishment Tenders
• Brickwork Tenders
• Small Construction Tenders
• Surveying Tenders
• Demolition Tenders
• Flooring Tenders
• Glass Tenders
• M&E
• Cost Consultancy
• Painting Contracts
• Decorating Tenders
• Masonry and many more.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for government construction tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

• An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
• A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
• Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
• Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
• Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

• All of the above.
• Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
• A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.