Buying conferencing services to host virtual council meetings in response to COVID-19

New regulations came into force on 4 April 2020 allowing local authorities to hold public meetings using audio or video conferencing. Many local authorities will now be considering how to hold virtual council meetings during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

If you don’t already have this capability in your council, then it’s possible to procure audio and video conferencing services quickly and easily through Crown Commercial Service frameworks. Both Network Services 2 and G-Cloud 11 offer straightforward routes to market. 

We’ve outlined a few common queries to help you get started.

Do my existing licenses provide this capability?

Some organisations have existing license investments enabling them to hold audio and video conferencing as well as virtual council meetings. 

Microsoft

Many Microsoft customers already qualify to use Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Stream through their existing Office365 licenses. You are advised to talk to your Microsoft account team if you require further information.

If you are a Microsoft customer but do not have Office 365, you may qualify for Microsoft’s offer of a free 6 month Office 365 E1 Trial, which includes Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Stream. A Microsoft account and/or organisational account is required for taking advantage of this free trial license. Again, you are advised to talk to your Microsoft account team if you require further information.

Google

All existing G Suite customers can use advanced Google Meet video conference features, such as larger meetings (up to 250 participants) and live streaming for an audience up to 100,000 until 30 September 2020.

How can I purchase audio or video conferencing?

Lot 8 (video conferencing services) and Lot 9 (audio conferencing services) on Network Services 2 are both ideal routes to market for this requirement. Both direct award (catalogue purchasing) and further competition are available for both lots. The documents section of the Network Services 2 web page has buyer guidance for both procurement routes.

If you’re considering using Zoom, a quick to implement route to market is available on G-Cloud 11 through the Digital Marketplace. Please email WFHProjectTaskForce@crowncommercial.gov.uk with ‘G-Cloud 11 / Zoom’ in the subject line for further information. There is a minimum order level of 10 licenses.

Should we offer the meeting as audio only, or audio and visual?

It can often be easier to follow who’s speaking if you have video as well as audio, but this decision is entirely up to your organisation. Both options can be procured easily and quickly through Network Services 2 (Lots 9 and 8 respectively) and G-Cloud 11. 

Should we cap the number of attendees?

This is at your council’s discretion. If you wish, you could cap the number of attendees at the capacity of the room the meeting would normally have been held in. But moving to a virtual platform also offers a good opportunity for increased accessibility, transparency and openness.

How do we moderate the meeting?

Many conferencing facilities give the host admin rights, which allows them to do things like holding attendees in a virtual lobby before admitting them to the meeting, and muting and unmuting participants.

How quickly could we implement a solution?

Procuring a solution through either Network Services 2 or G-Cloud 11 can be done quickly if your requirements are clear and straightforward. For Network Services 2, a speedy award is also reliant on product listings (‘Service Offers’) that meet your requirements already being published on the eMarketplace, which is the catalogue used for direct awards through this framework

We’re here to help

If you need further guidance or advice on purchasing a conferencing service for council meetings, please email WFHProjectTaskForce@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

Temporary patient and staff units – response to COVID-19

In response to urgent coronavirus (COVID-19) related requirements in the Health sector for wards, accommodation, testing pods and other temporary accommodation requirements, below is a guide on how to easily and quickly access solutions under our RM6014 Modular Building Solutions agreement.

Summary

The RM6014 Modular Building Solutions framework provides public sector organisations (NHS, emergency services, central government departments, charities and wider public sector) with a range of modular building solutions.

Buildings can be hired or purchased and fabricated to your particular specification and both direct award or further competition is available.

Healthcare buildings are all built in line with all Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) and Health Building Notes (HBNs) from the Department of Health and Social care (DHSC).

There is extremely high demand for healthcare modular buildings due to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, and we are working closely with our suppliers to manage the supply chain and reduce disruption.

Direct award

You can direct award to a supplier under RM6014. full guidance on how to do so can be found in the guidance document available on our web page.

Following the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 01/20, under the Public Contract Regulations (Reg32 (2)(c) to you can direct award in circumstances calling for extreme urgency due to threat to life. Please refer to this PPN for full details.

Healthcare products

Lots 2 and 4 of RM6014 have 13 suppliers who specialise in providing healthcare related modular buildings.

Suppliers can provide buildings such as (but not limited to):

  • wards (6,12 and 18+ beds)
  • isolation units
  • testing pods
  • small surgeries (GP and dental)

Refer to our Specification for the HTMs and HBNs that cover healthcare buildings manufactured by our suppliers.

Lots 5, 6 and 7 do not provide healthcare specific buildings, but can provide large spaces quickly, that can be fitted out to any specification.

Current supplier availability

We are working closely with our suppliers to manage heightened demand in light of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, and getting the most up to date information concerning product availability, daily. 

Subject to requirements, RM6014 suppliers have buildings in stock ready to be used, or typical lead times may be 3 to 10 weeks which includes site survey, delivery and installation. 

Our team can offer advice on how to use the framework and contract with our suppliers, as well as the latest healthcare product availability. 

How to use the framework

Take a look at the customer guidance and ordering procedure.

Send your initial queries to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk with the subject COVID-19 URGENT PROCUREMENT and give us as much detail as possible about what you need from CCS so we can best help you meet your needs and respond appropriately.  

We’ll get in touch and talk about your requirements. You will then need to fill out a registration document and an additional client user agreement and return it by email to modular.buildings@crowncommercial.gov.uk. This will help you to contact the right suppliers to directly award works using the framework. 

Accessing essential household items – response to COVID-19

To support the public sector and in addition to any existing arrangements that you may already have, in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), we have an agreement with two large wholesalers giving you access to their Cash and Carry depots across the country: Bestway and Booker/Makro.

Access is available to government departments, local authorities and other public and third sector organisations working in social care that are struggling to get supplies of household items such as baby supplies (nappies, formula, wipes) or ambient foods (tins).

Please note, this does NOT include Personal Protective Equipment.

The suppliers can make no guarantees on availability of products, as some are restricted and supplies change daily. 

How to get access to the Cash and Carry:

1. Public sector departments operating in the care sector need to email   info@crowncommercial.gov.uk including:

  • COVID-19 URGENT PROCUREMENT as the subject line 
  • that you need access to the CCS wholesale arrangement 
  • confirmation that you need to supply your local operating sites with household supplies and can collect them locally from the Cash and Carry

2. CCS will send you a validation letter that gives you access to your local depot.

3. You will need to complete customer registration in person at the local depot when you arrive (you need to keep hold of the validation letter for other visits). You will be given a day pass by the Cash and Carry. When you’ve registered you get immediate access to Bestway, Booker and Makro branches on a collection only basis. 

Note:  You will always need to bring the letter of validation issued by Crown Commercial Service and your government/organisation identification. Payment will need to be made using a government credit or debit card.

You can find your local branch on the Cash and Carry websites:

Bestway  www.bestwaywholesale.co.uk/depot-locator 

Booker www.booker.co.uk

Makro www.makro.co.uk

 

 

Supporting your logistics needs during COVID-19

In response to huge demand, we have set up a dedicated Logistics Task Force to support urgent COVID-19 related needs. Whatever you need to move and however often you need to do it – from a one-off movement of medical equipment to the movement of IT equipment to support colleagues working from home – we are here to help you find the right solution. 

Our dedicated team is available to offer advice, guidance and support to make sure your requirements are matched with the appropriate solution, either through an existing framework or our wider supplier offers database. 

The team is also actively engaging with the market to ensure we have the most up-to-date information on capacity, supply chain solutions and other factors that are impacting the movement of goods at this current time.

CCS are already engaged with, and supporting, key customers with immediate demands in this market. We now want to coordinate this effort across government and the wider public sector to ensure supply and demand can be matched during this difficult and unprecedented time.

Get in touch

To contact our Logistics Task Force please email logisticsandwarehousing@crowncommercial.gov.uk. If you need to get in touch with one of the team you can contact:

Claire Murray claire.murray@crowncommercial.gov.uk: 07833 620645

Neil Hall neil.hall@crowncommercial.gov.uk: 07738 112594

Vicky Tordoff vicky.tordoff@crowncommercial.gov.uk : 07802 878705

 

 

Energy Demand Generation – guidance and response to COVID-19

During these exceptional times it is expected that for a large number of us our normal energy consumption patterns will be severely disrupted. Whilst some parts of your estates may be seeing a dramatic reduction in demand (such as office use) others may be seeing a sharp increase or potential future spikes.

Assess the impact of your energy requirements

In some cases, decreases in energy consumption on part of your estate may be offset by increases elsewhere, so it is important for you to assess the impact on your overarching portfolio requirement to make sure that any extraordinary peaks or increases can be accommodated safely. It may be helpful to check where demand is no longer required, everything is being done to ensure building management systems are reviewed/reset to ensure that capacity can be diverted to where it is needed.

Additional metering and networks 

Please also remember that where additional demand on your estate requires amendments to your metering configuration (for example a new supply point and meter installation at a temporary building) you can use our energy supply agreements to have these amendments made. Contact your account manager at the supplier you use to discuss your options. We would advise you to contact suppliers as early in the planning process as possible, to avoid any risks associated with local network capacity.

Standby and emergency generators

At a wider network level everything is being done to manage the shift in demand patterns to keep the grid stable and safe. It is important to understand however that in some circumstances the grid may not have the excess or spare capacity to accommodate additional peaks/spikes in demand. In these instances the use of  standby/backup generation may be required either on a temporary or longer term basis. This may be needed not only to protect your operational effectiveness but also to protect the network in your local area.

Your estate may already have standby generators in place, however if not, or if you anticipate that your additional demand could be greater than your current backup capacity CCS can help. If your estate assessment indicates that you required additional support, we will be able to help with the provision of generators though our pre existing frameworks and agreements.

 

We can help

We have already reached out to the suppliers on our agreements and they have confirmed that they have stock available and can react quickly to meet our customer needs. 

If you have indications that you may need help or support in this area CCS can act quickly to support you. If you need help or assistance please send your initial queries to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk with the subject COVID-19 URGENT PROCUREMENT. 

Finding temporary accommodation during COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, NHS England, NHS Improvement and Crown Commercial Service, supported by Calder Conferences and Corporate Travel Management Limited (CTM), have developed a process for NHS staff, key workers and other impacted communities to access secure accommodation at hotels and other accommodation venues.

If you need accommodation of less than 9 bedrooms:

  1. telephone: 01274 726424
  2. select ‘Hotel team’
  3. select ‘Option 1’

Or you can send details about what you need by email to covid19@travelctm.com

If you need accommodation for more than 9 bedrooms:

Send details about what you need by email to north.groups@travelctm.com 

If you need to make a group booking for the same day a request is made

  1. telephone 01274 726424 
  2. select ‘Groups’ 
  3. select ‘Option 4. 

If you need a large scale/block booking or exclusive use of a hotel or other venue:

  1. telephone 0113 397 9432
  2. select option 1 

Or you can send details about what you need by email to covid19@calders.org.uk

If you are not sure which service suits your needs best, please contact either CTM or Calder using their details above and your request will be directed to the right team.

Please note that this is an OJEU compliant, but not mandated, process and organisations and users can continue to use their contracted travel provider. 

Enabling home working options in the public sector

A number of customers have contacted us to ask for support with understanding their technology options as they look to increase home working options for their employees in response to COVID-19.

To help with your planning we have pulled together information on a number of our agreements that can enable you to easily and quickly procure the technology products and services you may need to allow employees to work more flexibly at this time.

The below list is not exhaustive. You should check our Purchasing Platform and the Digital Marketplace before awarding any contracts. 

We have grouped the information into the following key areas: 

  • compute
  • security and access
  • network 
  • remote working tools

Please note, if you are accessing free of charge software licences at this time, your IT department will need to approve the products in line with their software asset management and deployment processes.

We’re here to help

We have also set up a working from home task force in CCS to help support customers with their working from home needs related to technology. Please get in touch with your account manager or email WFHProjectTaskForce@crowncommercial.gov.uk with as much detail as possible covering the following:

  • requirement – whether it’s hardware like laptops and tablets, software, internet access, or a combination of requirements, let us know what you need
  • quantity – how many units are required?
  • lead times – when do you need this equipment and/or services?
  • delivery –  what are the deployment locations needed e.g. split locations, personal addresses?

Compute

Stock levels have been heavily impacted over the last week and unfortunately large scale requirements are unlikely to be met in short timescales, particularly for brand new devices. 

You should still be able to access small volumes of new devices, 10’s or possibly even low 100’s however you should contact some resellers first to check on current stock levels as they are changing very quickly.

If you require thousands of devices then suppliers are advising it will involve a wait of 30 to 40 days.

For shorter term requirements you may want to consider refurbished devices and stock is still available.

You can make use of the simplified further competition facility under our Technology Products and Associated Services (TePAS) framework to get quick quotes for stock that is available now. Information on using TePAS and the simplified further competition process can be found in our customer guidance.

As well as off-the-shelf laptops and hardware, our resellers and manufacturers already have a number of bundles available to assist with home working. These range from complete mobility as service options to bundles of screens and peripherals which can be utilised where work desktops are being taken off-site for home working. 

You can also visit the Purchasing Platform to purchase via our online catalogue. 

Please contact us by emailing WFHProjectTaskForce@crowncommercial.gov.uk if you need further assistance.

Security and access

Cisco, who we operate a public sector Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with, are currently offering 90 day free usage of their Umbrella, Duo and AnyConnect applications, these cover secure web use and secure sign in.

For more details, please email ccsuk@external.cisco.com. 

As well as security products, both NCSC assured and non-assured cyber services can be bought from the Cyber Security Services DPS. You can run a further competition for these by visiting the Supplier Registration System.

Network

Where staff are now accessing networks and applications remotely in far greater numbers, available external network bandwidth to these services needs to be considered. This will be dependent on the organisation, service types, and potential number of staff accessing and it is recommended that you contact your existing network provider to check any potential impact.

Increased remote working, especially if there are any broadband issues, will likely see an increase in use of mobile data, so you need to ensure this is monitored and consider additional data bundles to cater for an increase in demand. In order for this to be effective, it is necessary that staff are able to tether devices so they can access their mobile data via their laptop.

Good working practices, such as switching off video if not necessary, can also significantly reduce the data flow across your network, therefore revised usage policies should also be considered. 

Conferencing services are going to play a pivotal role in maintaining business as usual operations, enabling your staff to continue to communicate effectively. There are a number of hosted services available which can be rolled out quickly and in some cases remotely. More on this can also be found below under remote working tools. 

The above networking services and more are available through Network Services 2. Visit the framework page for customer guidance, order forms and templates. 

The direct award option is available across all lots on Network Services 2, with all currently live offers available via our catalogue on the eMarketplace. If you haven’t used this before, you can find out how to access the eMarketplace.

Please contact us by emailing WFHProjectTaskForce@crowncommercial.gov.uk if you need further assistance.

Remote working tools

Microsoft’s Office 365 E1 package is available for 6 months on an extended trial. Further details can be found on its website but contact your Microsoft reseller for further assistance.

For G Suite and G Suite for Education customers, Google is rolling out free access to their advanced Hangouts Meet video conferencing capabilities and will be available at no additional cost to these customers until 1 July 2020. Help and support is available from the Google learning page.

Public sector organisations are also able to access a free 90 day licence for Cisco’s Webex platform for video and audio conferencing.

For more details, please email ccsuk@external.cisco.com.

Telefonica offer the Visionable video & data collaboration platform from O2. Public sector organisations can currently access a free 6 week trial of the platform. More details can be found on the Digital Marketplace. 

To explore more remote working tools available via our G-Cloud framework, please visit the Digital Marketplace.

Get in touch

If you require further advice or help with any of the above options to enable home working, please contact us by emailing WFHProjectTaskForce@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

Building materials and equipment – response to coronavirus (COVID-19)

This guide is in response to coronavirus (COVID-19) related enquiries regarding the availability of our suppliers and their products, branch opening times and contact details of building materials and equipment suppliers. 

It provides high-level detail about how to use our framework and the key details for suppliers.

Our Buildings Materials and Equipment (RM3837) framework provides public sector organisations (NHS, emergency services, central government departments, charities and wider public sector) with a range of building materials and equipment.

This guidance covers how to buy products under lots 1-8 of this framework**. This includes plumbing and heating, electrical, timber and joinery, workshop, industrial and electrical tools, paints and solvents, flooring, and small tools and plant hire.

Both direct award and further competition for lots 1-8 is available.

As per Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 01/20, there is functionality under the Public Contract Regulations (Reg32 (2)(c)) to direct award in circumstances calling for extreme urgency due to threat to life. Please refer to this PPN for full details.

There is extremely high demand for building materials due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Please be assured, we are working closely with our suppliers to manage the supply chain and reduce disruption.

**Lot 9 refers to Personal Protection Equipment. This is currently being handled separately due to high demand. In the first instance, any non-health sector enquiries and requests for PPE should be directed through to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk as per the guidance below.

For any NHS/Health sector enquiries, The Department of Health and Social Care has asked us to refer you to the information on the NHS supply chain website for advice about how this can be done and links to the National Supply Disruption Response Team.

 

Products and supplier availability

This document provides a breakdown of all the suppliers on RM3837 lots 1-8, their product type, opening times and contact details.

For more information please contact the suppliers directly, after registering on the framework (see below). 

How to use the framework

Full guidance is available here and further details can be accessed on our webpage. 

Please send your initial queries to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk with the subject COVID-19 URGENT PROCUREMENT and indicating the type of assistance you will require from CCS throughout this procurement so we can best help you meet your needs and respond appropriately.  

Once we’ve discussed your requirement we’ll invite you to register on the frameworks and fill out a Customer User Agreement and return to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk and cc cpcm@crowncommercial.gov.uk. This will enable you to engage with our suppliers to directly award works via the framework. 

Guidance on facilities management (FM) provision in response to COVID-19

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many public sector organisations will be reviewing the need for a full or partial shutdown of buildings and a reduction in services. This will be part of their strategy for complying with the guidelines issued by central government on transitioning to “essential service” provision only to limit / slow-down the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Irrespective of whether public sector organisations act as landlords or tenants within their property portfolios, this requires them to carefully plan:

  • the partial closure and phasing down of services and subsequent reductions in building occupancy levels
  • the full mothballing of vacated properties
  • the reactivation of building services post event

Property and FM contract management teams, building owners, landlords and tenants will therefore be responsible for the necessary adjustments to both hard and soft FM services, as appropriate. The extent to which these services need to be varied will depend on:

  • use
  • building / estate configuration
  • operational requirements (whether buildings and activities have been categorised as “key services” to the public sector and personnel as ”key workers” during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic)

Consideration should be given to the fact that:

  • in many cases, buildings will not be required to be fully mothballed. This may because they have become low use with skeleton staff, and have low-key maintenance requirements. Having elements of the building open may be needed to support staff working from home, such as server rooms to support the online working and welfare provision for site-based or visiting “key personnel”)
  • for planned maintenance (PPM) activities, the timeframes for reactivating / bringing buildings back on-line post mothballing may significantly impact an organisation’s ability to deliver business-as-usual services quickly when coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions have been relaxed.

Your organisation will therefore, depending on the building and situation, need to assess their employee (and any FM supplier personnel) building access needs. To produce a method of working that satisfies government requirements for the pandemic, statutory and insurance requirements (plus leases and legal maintenance agreements), all public sector organisations must apply principles of risk assessments to the health and safety and welfare of all personnel (for example those classified as key workers within buildings) and the amended contractual needs.

In all cases, any amendment to FM service provision introduced should be in full compliance with all current government guidelines, as appropriate (for example Public Health England).

All public sector organisations should work with their FM suppliers to agree “key worker” functions and personnel details and should ensure all necessary documents are in place to enable safe travel and access to their buildings (which would have been classified as a “critical site” under government guidelines).

View our full detailed Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Guidance on Facilities Management (FM) provision

COVID-19 related consultancy support

We have received many offers of support from consultancy firms over the past week. We have also negotiated with others to encourage similar offers at this critical time. This means we have a range of pro-bono, at cost or discounted offers available to support you. These offers come from all of the large consultancies as well as many SMEs.

To use this service if you have a coronavirus (COVID-19) related consultancy need, please first of all ensure that you have followed your own internal process for signing off  consultancy requirements.

You should then email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk with the subject line COVID-19 URGENT PROCUREMENT.

In your email please provide a description of the support you need. We will then arrange a conversation with you so that we can match a suitable supplier to your requirement (subject to availability). 

This is an important part of the process as we have negotiated a wide range of commercial deals and some suppliers will be better suited to your needs than others.