Home Office finds scalable, cost-effective and efficient network infrastructure services for its estate with CCS

The requirement

The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) function within the Home Office provides project management, architectural and engineering capability. It delivers a range of IT solutions across the department, including private wide and local area networks (fixed and wireless) and data centre services.

Whilst a significant number of its IT services are moving to centralised or cloud architectures, a comprehensive on-site local infrastructure remains to distribute these services to end users. This drives a demand for installation, maintenance and decommissioning of locally installed equipment across the Home Office estate.

The solution

To meet this demand, the DDaT team chose our Technology Services 2 framework to help it find a field services delivery partner. They wanted to achieve technical and commercial governance, and best value. The framework gave it access to a wide range of enterprise and SME suppliers so it could look for a supplier that could demonstrate its ability to meet the following requirements:

  • maintain compliance with technical standards and industry best practice
  • scalable services to meet fluctuating demand through the UK and at sites in mainland Europe
  • ability to support business as usual, incidents and project requirements spanning multiple wired and wireless networks and internal customers
  • provide 24/7 incident support to demanding service levels
  • agility, innovation and overall value for money

The results

Following a rigorous further competition, specialist infrastructure support company ITM Communications Limited was appointed.

ITM’s field services delivery team includes a full time service delivery manager, service desk, project management office, break/fix engineers, technical logistics and a flexible team of regional engineers.

ITM clearly demonstrated its ability to meet Home Office’s technical and commercial requirements, whilst also enabling it to address existing challenges. These included resource duplication, efficiency, opportunity cost and a reduction in risk, as well as offering real value for money. For example:

  • for the 6 months to November 2020, Home Office was credited approximately £8,000 on 25 jobs where standby engineers were able to complete quoted project work outside of their standby duties
  • 3 separate requests at the same site, which had been quoted at a total value of approximately £7,000, were combined and completed by a single team, saving £2,750

This approach has also reduced the environmental impact of associated travel.

John Pratt, Commercial Lead in the Home Office DDaT team, said:

Contracting with ITM through the CCS framework has allowed us to partner with a well-established supplier who has the high-level of expertise required, coupled with the ability to really understand the business needs and offer real value for money. ITM strives to find additional savings whilst on-the-job by adopting best practice and a pragmatic way of getting the job done. This is exactly what our customers need, and ITM and the framework contract allows this to be achieved across the Home Office portfolio.

Let us add power to your procurement

Our Technology Services 2 framework provides technology services from strategy and service design to the operational running of an IT estate.
To find out how we can help you make smart buying decisions for your technology services:

Fast provision of specialist vehicles supports the delivery of mobile COVID-19 testing

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) used our Vehicle Lease, Fleet Management and Flexible Rental Solutions (RM6096) commercial agreement to help in the fight against COVID-19.

The requirement

Mobile testing is playing a key role in delivering the government’s strategy to enhance testing capabilities for COVID-19 for local communities.

To achieve this goal, the DHSC required specially adapted long wheel-based vehicles which had a range of modifications, including:

  • 3 internal bulkheads
  • 1 ‘dirty area’ in the rear of the vehicle to house a wash basin, hand sanitiser and clinical waste bins, and for storage of items with a wipe/wash down lining
  • main compartment to house cool boxes for keeping completed tests between 8-22 degrees with a split charging system and robust shelving for testing supplies, cleaning products and PPE
  • traffic management system (cones and chain fencing)
  • 4 x robust gazebos
  • 4 sets of tables and chairs
  • PPE and first aid boxes
  • various equipment to run mobile testing facility

Because of the urgent need for the vehicles, the timeline from confirming the required specification to delivery was only 10 days but with an expectation of some vehicles being made available and fully operational within 6 days.

The solution 

The DHSC had previously sourced vehicles and suppliers independently. However, on this occasion, they used our Fleet agreement to ensure the contracts which were awarded met the highest levels of probity and value for money, even during these challenging times.

An order was placed with Enterprise 10 days before the desired delivery date for all vehicles, with some ideally needed within 6 days.

Enterprise created a small project team to ensure we could source the vehicles and suppliers capable of managing the conversion to the required standards and timeframes. The team was also tasked with acquiring the large volume of specific loose items needed from a large pool of varied suppliers across the UK. 

This challenge would have been difficult in normal circumstances but during a pandemic, when many suppliers were closed or on reduced capacity and with many resources scarce, it became a major project for a team having to work remotely from each other. 

The results 

  • 7 vehicles were ready for delivery on day 6, 8 were ready on day 7, and 5 were complete just 8 days after the initial order was received
  • by leveraging our existing agreements and supplier relationships, we delivered against a demanding specification and timescale, the success of which was reflected through the delivery of a further 120 vehicles by Enterprise before the end of the month

This illustrates the nimbleness that Lot 4 of RM6096 can offer the UK public sector. The contract-free, flexible rental solution provides fleet operators with total flexibility over the vehicle type, duration, and specification of their requirement.

As we emerge from lockdown with the future still uncertain, we believe flexible rental, through should play an increasingly important role in fleet decision making within the public sector.

Further information 

We offer a end-to-end suite of Fleet solutions to give the public sector the power to keep their vehicles on the road in a safe, cost-effective and sustainable manner. To learn more:

Parcel lockers provide creative solutions across the public sector

With the public sector continually asked to deliver an ever greater service with increasing finite resources, there has been a rise in the use of creative solutions to address traditional problems.

Nowhere has this been seen more than in the use of smart parcel lockers, available through our Postal Goods, Services and Solutions (RM6017) framework. 

In this article, we review how 2 public sector organisations – a hospital and a university – used parcel lockers to solve very different problems while increasing efficiency.

The hospital

Only when a patient receives their medication can they be safely discharged from hospital – freeing up their bed. This often means waiting for the medication to be ready to leave the pharmacy, followed by a further wait while the medication is delivered to the wards. 

A Care Quality Commission report found that nearly 75% of patients whose discharge from hospital was delayed was because they had to wait for medicine. Just over a quarter of these patients had to wait over 4 hours. 

The knock-on effect from this can be felt at the other end of the hospital in A&E, where patients often have to wait for hours until a bed becomes available and they can be moved to a ward.

To help solve this problem, a hospital purchased a number of smart parcel lockers. They are safe, secure, and contactless. They can operate 24/7 and are capable of capturing images of access and providing an audit trail. 

The arrival of the lockers at the hospital meant that patients could vacate their bed – either going home or waiting elsewhere onsite – before being alerted by email that their medication was ready to collect.

The message contained a QR code, enabling contactless collection, and a PIN code – the recipient can choose which to use to collect their medication.

This innovative solution had a transformative effect on both patients and the hospital:

  • patients waiting in A&E could progress through the hospital at a greater pace
  • a far better, more comfortable experience for patients and their families
  • other areas of the hospital benefited – such as car park capacity

The university

Northampton University houses over 2,500 students on its campus. The students generate a perpetual flow of parcel deliveries from online retailers and relatives.

Traditionally, the University, like many others, would leave a note under the student’s door when there was a parcel to collect from the mailroom. 

This was a time-consuming and inefficient process for the university and frustrating for students whose access to parcels was often restricted by the mailroom’s opening hours.

With the university keen to use staff time more efficiently while improving the student experience, they purchased a number of smart parcel lockers from Quadient, a supplier on our Postal Goods Services and Solutions commercial agreement.

When their parcel is available to collect, students are alerted via an email or text message. To collect the parcel, they simply have to scan a barcode or enter the PIN code included in their alert, to open the door and access their goods.

The solution provided the University with:

  • a secure, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant parcel storage system
  • the ability to offer contactless parcel collection – especially important during COVID-19 
  • the chance to become more efficient – with staff able to focus on other priorities

Get involved

Parcel lockers can be used by any organisation that has a need for secure storage while looking to increase organisational efficiency. 

For more information on this agreement and to learn how we can help you take some of the pressure off with a range of smart solutions:

A message for our customers from Simon Tse

Dear customers

As we approach the end of an extraordinary year, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the challenges we have all faced and set out some of our plans for 2021 that will further improve our offer and ensure that we create even more value for you, our customers.

Like many public sector organisations, CCS has had to change and adapt to the unique circumstances of 2020. We’ve been involved in some of the most intense and important public procurement activity in recent years, including supporting the Government’s response to COVID-19 and facilitating the transition to a future system of public procurement outside the European Union. I am proud to say that we have done all of that while helping to deliver a billion pounds of commercial benefits for our customers across the public sector. 

While our face to face contact has necessarily been limited since March, it has been great to see so many of our colleagues in central government and the wider public sector joining us virtually. 

We know 2021 will bring its own challenges and opportunities. The Government has a clear policy agenda in place including around how we level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises who want to supply to the public sector, and how we strengthen social value, modern slavery and sustainability in our solutions.

You will be hearing a great deal from CCS on how we will support the Government’s ambitions around Carbon Net Zero and what it means for your estates, energy, and infrastructure. You can read more about that on the Crown Commercial Service website now. 

There is so much more to come, and as we look forward to better times next year I wanted to assure you that we remain committed to supporting your procurement needs at every step of the journey. 

For now, please accept the very best of wishes from myself and all of us at the Crown Commercial Service.

Simon Tse

Chief Executive Officer

Crown Commercial Service

Christmas opening hours

  • Our Customer Service Centre remains open from Monday to Friday, 9 – 5 over the festive period except for Bank Holidays when we will be closed
  • Telephone: 0345 410 2222

Email: info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Feedback informs new construction opportunity for SMEs

Following extensive supply chain engagement on the Construction Professional Services framework, CCS’s team has reviewed its category strategy and is now planning an offer suited to regional SMEs. This is planned to go live at the same time as the Construction Professional Services framework in November 2021.

A new Dynamic Purchasing System

The Construction Professional Services framework proposal is designed to offer a wide portfolio of construction multi-discipline professional services across infrastructure and urban regeneration projects within the built environment at locations throughout the UK.

To complement the framework it is envisaged that the new, additional Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) will support the construction professional services market regionally and allow businesses of all disciplines and sizes, operating regionally, access to those opportunities. 

CCS Deputy Director of Construction, John Welch said:

The response to the initial Prior Information Notice raised questions as to the opportunities for SMEs to fulfil the framework’s national requirements.

The purpose of  going out to PIN is to set out our ideas for a new commercial agreement and to get feedback from businesses and  potential customers to shape the future framework.

Valid points were raised. We believe this framework requirement suits the bulk of the current and future client needs through our engagement and evaluation however we also recognise there is a client need to contract with more local, smaller and niche suppliers.

There has also been a commitment to developing the Construction Professional Services framework to offer opportunities to organisations of all sizes – including through a simplified pricing model.

Professional standards

The framework will  adopt the construction industry Common Assessment Standard (CAS) as the common evaluation criteria. This will reduce the need for suppliers to complete a variety of different pre-qualification questionnaires. The framework also has  the opportunity for all suppliers to join joint ventures or consortia in order to tender. 

The Construction Professional Services framework will be based on the FAC-1 Framework Alliance Contract standard form, which brings to life Government Construction Strategy recommendations in order to add value to our customers and the supply chain by promoting innovations and improved digital design contributions, driving more sustainable solutions and establishing effective risk management.

This approach compliments our existing portfolio of frameworks across all CCS construction categories, integrating solutions for the public sector in a collaborative way, and aligns to the new Construction Playbook.

Modern slavery and prompt payment

Although the professions likely to apply for the framework and DPS are considered low risk in regards to Modern Slavery all companies will be required to address the risk of Modern Slavery in their supply chain as part of CCS commitment to social value. 

Potential suppliers will also be asked to sign up to the prompt payment code and to comply with green sustainability aims while supporting the delivery of  government net zero carbon targets. 

Find out more

Market engagement sessions will be planned in the near future for the new DPS and advertised via a separate Prior Information Notice.

During future market engagement Crown Commercial Service will invite suggestions and feedback on the proposed structure of the DPS from the market including industry experts, specialists, suppliers and potential customers. 

The latest Prior Information Notice can be found on Tenders Electronic Daily.

Join our Insurance Community of Practice

During my time working in Insurance at CCS, the market has undergone significant change. Notably, the withdrawal of insurers from the market and several large mergers. The most significant change, however, has undoubtedly been the recent hardening of the insurance market. 

A hardening of the insurance market means that insurance companies’ capacity for certain sectors or risks has declined. Therefore, insurers are reducing their risk exposure and not accepting certain types of risk. This reduced capacity has led to increased premiums and difficulties in gaining cover. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has only intensified this issue while, paradoxically, meaning it’s never been more important to have the right cover protecting your people and your assets.

How prior planning can achieve the best value

The hardening of the market means that it’s more important than ever to work with the industry – either through an insurance broker or insurer – to design a bespoke insurance programme that can get you the cover that you need for the very best value.

We have recently written a whitepaper, explaining how prior planning can help you get the right cover at the right price. 

Download your complimentary copy of the ‘Insurance whitepaper – how advance planning can achieve best value’. 

Sharing best practice for best results

Those with a responsibility for public sector insurance ultimately share the same goal; enable the delivery of world-class public services by ensuring your organisation has adequate cover, secured at the best price. 

As we’ve explored above, it’s never been more important, or more difficult, to fulfill this task. It’s for this reason we want to start a ‘Community of Practice’ for public sector insurance professionals.

We know that there are many pockets of good practice going on across the public sector. This information needs to be shared with other buyers, empowering colleagues across the public sector to use this knowledge for the benefit of their organisations, stakeholders and, ultimately, the taxpayer.

We would expect the Community of Practice to meet 2-3 times per year, with an aim to:

  • find and showcase examples of good practice within the public sector so that more organisations can benefit from it
  • provide insight based on experience to help CCS decide what events and educational materials we should focus on producing 
  • help shape our insurance category strategy and future insurance commercial agreements

Get involved

If you wish to be part of the Community of Practice, or if you’d like more information, please contact one of the team. 

For more information, read our insurance services blog or visit the Insurance Services 3 framework page.

 

Prepare to deliver – how to keep your fleet on the road this winter

With a challenging winter fast approaching, it’s essential that those with a responsibility for managing the public sector fleet take the time to ensure they are properly prepared for the months ahead. 

Whether you’re a blue light organisation charged with keeping us safe, a charity taking care of the most vulnerable, or a council delivering essential public services – to function effectively, your fleet must stay on the road all winter, in all conditions. 

Where to begin?

Firstly, we recommend you focus on some quick and easy wins. Making sure you follow these 6 principles can, for minimal effort, help keep your drivers safe, your organisation protected and your fleet on the road, delivering those vital services day after day.

  • carry out more regular maintenance checks – checking the basics such as tyre pressure, tread depth and wiper blades. This is also the time to check oil changes and if any repairs are needed
  • check your battery – as the temperature drops, so does a car’s battery power so check your fleet’s batteries before the colder weather hits
  • provide your drivers with emergency packs – containing items like torches, high visibility jackets and de-icer
  • clear snow and ice – before driving anywhere in snowy conditions, clear snow and ice from the vehicle’s windows, lights, hood and roof and make sure that all lights are visible
  • remind your drivers of best practices – such as favouring main roads and keeping a quarter of a tank of fuel in case of emergency or delay. 
  • ensure you have the right insurance cover – accidents can be commonplace in winter, so make sure your people and your assets are protected.

Our most popular winter solutions

Following the above principles can certainly help your fleet perform robustly this winter, but we understand that sometimes, you need a little extra help. At CCS, our suite of Total Fleet Solutions are here to help power to your fleet come rain, shine or snow. 

Here are our most popular winter solutions that keep fleets up and down the country on the road, delivering vital services, every winter.

  • Supply & Fit of Tyres and Ancillary Services (RM3767)

A wide range of tyres can be procured through this agreement, including winter tyres, cross climate and all-season tyres. 

Also under this agreement, fleet checks can be carried out to ensure that your tyres are maintained to your organisation’s desired tread depth (the legal limit for tread depth is 1.6mm). 

If you need extra support, our expert team is here to guide you, while our suppliers are available to discuss your requirements, ensuring you have the right tyres for your fleet.

Learn more about this agreement

  • Vehicle Purchase (RM6060) and Vehicle Conversions (RM3814)

Both of these agreements enable buyers to obtain turnkey solutions for all of their specialist winter vehicles.

Base vehicles can be purchased via the Vehicle Purchase agreement and converted into specialist vehicles such as gritter lorries and snow ploughs by the converters on our Vehicle Conversion Dynamic Purchasing Agreement.

In addition, the Vehicle Purchase agreement can be used for the supply of after-sales servicing and maintenance packages, including the supply of vehicle parts and spares. 

Learn more about Vehicle Purchase

Learn more about Vehicle Conversions

  • Vehicle Telematics (RM6143)

While it’s common knowledge that vehicle maintenance is key to keeping your fleet on the road, especially during the winter months, the part telematics can play in that is only now gaining prominence. 

Telematics can allow you to capture and analyse vehicle data – such as usage, fuel consumption and driver behaviour – meaning you can make evidence-based decisions that keep your fleet performing efficiently and cost-effectively. 

Learn more about this agreement

Next steps

We understand how important it is to keep your fleet on the road this winter. Our suite of Total Fleet Solutions are here to help you to do just that. From insurance to telematics, vehicle purchase to vehicle conversions, we’ve got you covered.

 

Permanent Recruitment framework helps DVLA recruit specialist roles they were struggling to fill

Over the last decade the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been through a radical programme of change, moving away from being a paper-based organisation to a modern and highly efficient digital business. They’ve expanded their digital services and are a multi-award winning government organisation, providing excellent digital services to their customers.

Due to this period of change, DVLA needed to recruit people with significant experience of leading and managing transformation and culture shift to fill 4 roles.

They had previously run 2 rounds of recruitment activity without success. It was felt that the low response rate from candidates outside of the Civil Service was because the roles were only advertised on the Civil Service Jobs website. DVLA also thought perceived application barriers could be an issue, as the very specific and rigorous screening involved was something with which many non-public sector applicants may not be familiar.

Expert recruitment support

DVLA realised that the CCS Permanent Recruitment framework could give them access to the recruitment specialists they needed to help them fill their roles. Through lot 3 of the framework they appointed Yolk Recruitment.

Yolk created a bespoke vacancy advertising solution for DVLA and ran a dual-branded campaign. This meant that the vacancies were promoted on a variety of commercial job boards and Yolk’s own website, as well as on Civil Service Jobs. A passive candidate database was also used to identify potential candidates who, whilst not actively seeking a new role, would be a good match and may find the opportunity attractive. Social media, particularly LinkedIn, and established referral networks completed the advertising mix.

Yolk proactively encouraged applications from candidates across a range of sectors and supported them in navigating the Civil Service application process, including writing a profile statement that evidenced their strengths against Civil Service Success Profiles.

Successfully attracting external talent

The recruitment campaign resulted in 312 applications, which Yolk shortlisted to 17 candidates. Specialist consultants facilitated interview scheduling and management in line with the DVLA’s process, and 11 of the 17 candidates were invited to interview.

The 4 posts were successfully offered after a single round of interviews. All offers were accepted and Yolk provided further support with candidate on-boarding to ensure new starter paperwork and background checking was completed efficiently.

All 4 posts were filled by candidates that Yolk had attracted to the roles – and the DVLA as an employer – through the additional sourcing channels used by the agency.

As well as a 100% fill rate, Yolk completed the recruitment campaign within the budget and desired timescales: 7 weeks from the date of initial vacancy instruction to offer made, and 11 weeks from initial vacancy instruction to candidate start date.

Diversity and inclusion

The Civil Service recruitment and selection protocols and Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview scheme requirements were followed to ensure a compliant, fair and open process. Diversity and inclusion data was also collected from candidates. This is a critical requirement under the framework as many stakeholders look to supplier expertise to support their diversity ambitions and ensure they are aligned to the Civil Service diversity and inclusion strategy.

You have the power to make better recruitment decisions

To find out how the Permanent Recruitment Solutions framework can help you with your vacancies visit the framework web page.

For further advice and guidance please complete this short online form, email us or call us on 0345 410 2222.

Customer guide to the Find a Tender Service – get ready for EU Transition

After the transition period ends at 11pm on 31 December 2020 the UK will replace the Official Journal of the European Union’s Tenders Electronic Daily (OJEU/TED) with the Find a Tender Service (FTS) – the new UK e-notification service where notices for new procurements will need to be published.

While the framework and principles underlying the public procurement regime (such as the procurement procedures and financial thresholds) will not substantially change, it is important that contracting authorities understand the implications of moving to the new service. 

You can find out more in Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 08/20, including advice on:

  • how to publish to Find a Tender
  • requirements where procurements are already underway and a flow chart to advise where to publish your procurement after the end of the transition period
  • what to tell your suppliers
  • frequently asked questions

The PPN also encourages contracting authorities to send their pre-transition procurement notices to Find a Tender. However, this is not a legal requirement.

The CCS supply teachers deal: helping you do the right thing for your school and your temporary staff

If you have seen the recent NASUWT ‘Better Deal for Supply Teachers’ campaign, and perhaps the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) and Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) responses to it, you may be left wondering where to turn to ensure you are doing the right thing for your school and your supply teachers.

Our Supply Teachers deal is a great place to start. Supported by the Department for Education it has been designed to address exactly the issues raised by NASUWT. It gives you a simple and compliant way to access the supply teachers and other temporary staff that you need from accredited and audited agencies. 

Peace of mind and a fair deal

Our deal will help you access a wide range of local and national recruitment agencies, ensure you pay competitive agency fees, and most importantly, that your workers get paid fairly too. 

The amount you pay your agency (often known as mark-up) can make a big difference to how much your workers get paid. Read our guidance on the impact of agency mark-up on worker pay for insight into the issue and how we can help you tackle it. 

No transfer fees

Through the CCS deal you will also benefit from no transfer fees to pay to make temporary workers permanent after 12 weeks. Simply give 4 weeks’ notice and you will save thousands of pounds. 

This can also be a useful way to help you quickly fill permanent posts and ensure you have the right candidate before you commit.

 Complex or high volume needs

If you manage recruitment for lots of schools or have complex or high volume needs, we recommend you consider a managed service solution. Katie Spraggon, Procurement and Contracts Manager, Northern Education Trust chose a managed service and has so far saved over £100,000 for her trust. She had this to say:

The framework provides the right quality of candidate to be student facing, whilst offering far more competitive rates, reducing spend and allowing for further investment in educational resources for our students.

Learn more about how you can benefit from a managed service in our case study from Katie.

We can empower you to make better recruitment decisions

Book a free 1:1 session today to explore how we can help you with your temporary recruitment needs. Email supplyteachers@crowncommercial.gov.uk. 

Find out more about the supply teachers deal.

Call us on 0345 410 2222.