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. 

Education Technology | Crown Commercial Service

Education Technology is now live

The new Education Technology framework, developed in collaboration with the Department for Education is now live. Schools, multi-academy trusts, universities and colleges can all use the framework to buy a broad range of technologies and services.

Replacing ICT Services for Education, which expired earlier this year, Education Technology gives you access to 44 suppliers, 79% of which are SMEs.

What you can buy

  • ICT solutions – specialist suppliers for fully or partially managed ICT services offer ICT refresh or a complete new build solution
  • broadband fibre infrastructure – design and installation of broadband fibre infrastructure
  • broadband services – connectivity services including full fibre broadband (both new services and upgrades), support and maintenance, internet filtering, firewall, eSafety and IP connectivity
  • hardware – from laptops, desktops and tablets to servers, networking cables and routers
  • audiovisual –  provision and installation of sound and/or visual equipment, such as interactive whiteboards and tables, digital signage, TVs, audio visual software and auditorium solutions

Best value

Buying through this framework means you can take advantage of:

  • exceptional value for money with competitive product and service pricing
  • easy to use templates and guidance to help you on your procurement journey
  • access to suppliers with the knowledge, skills and the capability to help you ensure a modern digital learning environment

Plus, coming soon: an online catalogue for fast and efficient purchase of small volumes of hardware and audio visual equipment.

Join our free webinar

We’re hosting a webinar on 25 September at 10.30am to tell you more about the framework and how to get started. Please join us if you would like to find out more:

Book your free place

If you can’t join us but have a question you can get in touch in a number of ways:

Call us on 0345 410 2222

Learn about Spark’s new technology innovation offerings – Crown Commercial Service

Do you have a need for new and emerging innovative technology products?

Spark was launched in April 2019 to provide a smarter way for public sector customers to access the very latest and proven technologies. It is a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) enabling suppliers to join Spark and add new service offerings at any point during its lifetime. This includes a filter system to help customers search for products and shortlist relevant suppliers for their bespoke further competitions. As our current appointed suppliers will testify, it’s a simple and quick application process, helping SMEs and startups to remove barriers to doing business with the public sector; enabling true exploitation of innovation.

The number of appointed suppliers has been steadily growing since April and there are now 21, 15 of whom are SMEs, offering a wide range of proven technologies, which are predicted to have the largest impact over the next 2 to 5 years.

The suppliers’ innovation offerings are not just new and exciting but improving and simplifying everyday life. They cover: the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and automation, simulated and enhanced environments, engineering and materials science, data, wearables, transport, and security. Below are some of the examples;

  • among the SMEs, Connexin specialises in delivering smart city and internet of things (IoT) technology services to local authorities
  • Intechnology also provides smart city products designed to add social value, increase sustainability and protect the environment.
    • it has rolled out one of the UK’s first city-wide networks for the IoT in Coventry to pilot high-tech public services to improve air quality, pest control, waste management and street lighting
  • some of the other types of innovation on offer from SMEs include GDS Digital Services’ provision of a platform to support IP-based telecare, telemedicine and IoT devices within a social care context
  • Ocasta provides a ‘gamified’ learning system called ‘Albert’ to improve knowledge among public-facing staff which uses ‘spaced learning’ to counteract the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve effect, where knowledge is lost over time
  • Codebase8 provides software development capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) technology, automating the low value, mundane and repetitive administrative tasks within businesses
  • Placecube develops integrated digital services, turning them into reusable products that government can more easily consume
    • co-designed with government, Placecube has already created quick-to-deploy, reusable solutions for local public services, community collaboration and place-based service directories
    • all their solutions are based on leading open source technologies and an open ecosystem of reusable digital components
  • Becrypt provides Paradox, an operating system developed in collaboration with the UK government that reduces cyber security risks
    • and ensures that endpoint devices (desktops, laptops, thin clients, kiosks) always boot into a ‘known good state’ free of any malware or compromise
    • updates to the operating system and full application stack are also provided by Becrypt
  • among the larger suppliers, Fujitsu focuses on fast IT technologies such as IoT, analytics, AI, blockchain and quantum inspired computing
  • Kainos’ experience spans across emerging technologies including AI, machine learning, security, IoT and data
    • helping to transform citizen experiences and meet user needs by securely embedding intelligence into software to assist human decision making
  • Pinacl Solutions focuses on IoT and Smart Places, whose expertise extends to smart street lighting, environmental monitoring, waste management, smart traffic, smart housing and smart parking

The appointed suppliers are based all around the UK from Brighton, Bristol, Reading, Oxford, Belfast, Manchester, Harrogate, Hull and London. All offer both levels of security classification.

If you would like to find out more, you can:

Agency staff placements during the COVID-19 pandemic: guidance for NHS trusts and suppliers

NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the Department for Health and Social Care, Workforce Alliance and HealthTrust Europe to provide shared guidance for NHS trusts and suppliers on agency staff placements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This guidance was published on 27 March to ensure agency staff are placed efficiently to support the provision of a safe and high-quality temporary workforce, whilst maintaining essential compliance, at this critical time. Following its publication there have been further updates relating to pre-employment checks and temporary facilities and estates staff (see below for full details).

Framework suppliers:

The Workforce Alliance also wrote to suppliers on 30 March about contingent labour pay in the wider public sector at this time:

NHS trusts:

Updates to the guidance

30 March: NHS Employers issue temporary guidance on pre-employment checks

NHS Employers has updated the pre-employment checks section of their website with temporary guidance related to the current situation. This replaces the guidance for both trusts and suppliers in the section headed ‘measures to support rapid onboarding of staff’ set out in the documents above dated 27 March. It should be applied with immediate effect.

6 April: NHS England and NHS Improvement amend rules on use of agency workers for facilities and estates shifts

In response to the current demand for facilities and estates staff (particularly cleaners, porters and security staff), NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) has amended the rule that trusts should only use substantive or bank workers to fill facilities and estates shifts, unless exempt under certain conditions. 

This means that rather than request an exemption, trusts can now use agency workers. They should inform NHSE/I of their plans and they will record this information. This can be done retrospectively, if required.  

NHSE/I recommend that staffing managers work with agencies appointed to NHSE/I approved frameworks, such as the Workforce Alliance’s Non-Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff Framework (RM6160).

If you have any questions about this guidance, please contact your CCS customer or supplier lead or email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

New Digital Outcomes and Specialists 4 agreement goes live

Digital Outcomes and Specialists helps public sector organisations find suppliers that can buy, design, build, test and deliver software, supporting the delivery of world-class public services that meet the needs of citizens.

There are 4 solutions available to customers:

  • digital outcomes
  • digital specialists
  • user research studios
  • user research participants

Niall Quinn, CCS Technology Director says:

DOS 4 will continue to help facilitate digital transformation for our customers while creating opportunities for collaboration with a wide range of suppliers. For this new version we have been able to enhance the framework and make some improvements to the Digital Marketplace in line with customer and supplier feedback, to improve their experience.

3,475 technology companies have been handed places on the latest iteration of the framework, 94% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Public sector organisations have so far spent £1.5bn through the 3 previous agreements, with 32% going directly to SMEs. More than £200m has been spent with micro-SMEs.

DOS4 is accessed through the Digital Marketplace, created in 2014 by CCS and Government Digital Service (GDS) to make government procurement easier and more transparent.

To find out more about DOS4, visit the framework page. Got a question? Get in touch and one of our experts will be happy to help.

What can we learn from how Dubai ‘does’ financial services?

As part of their visit to the UK they wanted to understand what role we played in encouraging innovation in financial services, especially in the payments sector.

I thought it sounded like a great idea and a chance for me to understand more about global financial services based on their experiences.

So, after brushing up on important Arabic customs and greetings I welcomed them to the HM Treasury building for what was a really interesting discussion.

Leading the group was Ms Amna Mohamed Bin Lootah, Director of Dubai’s Smart Financial Services division (SFS). She explained her role as delivering outstanding and smart financial services so that a citizen’s experience of paying for public services in Dubai is as positive as possible.

We both agreed that there is definitely a role for organisations like ours to encourage innovation, as evident in the world of payments. Whilst the public sector has very little to no competition when it comes to accepting payments (when I need to renew my car tax there’s only one place I can buy it from), that shouldn’t stop us looking at how we can make citizens’ experiences of using our services as slick as possible. It was interesting to discover that there is a body similar to our Government Digital Service (GDS) in Dubai.

Just as CCS financial services team works closely with GDS on payments innovation and increasing cashless payments, the SFS of Dubai works closely with their own digital counterparts.

We spoke about open banking – which has been pushed by recent EU legislation and will, eventually, affect everyone who banks here including consumers and businesses. While open banking is still in its early stages the team is attempting to support and more importantly encourage it in the public sector by looking for innovative services in our next Payments Acceptance framework. As an example, we’re seeking Payment Initiation Service Providers, or PISPs (who in this area are predominantly small fintechs) which provide a quicker and simpler way of making a payment. For anyone taking a non-cash payment for goods and services they are also cheaper.

It’s obvious that there’s a lot we can learn by listening to the experiences of others, but it’s also interesting to hear about the challenges we share in two countries as seemingly different as the UK and Dubai.

Now that the relationship with the SFS of Dubai has been established I’ll be keeping in touch to carry on sharing and comparing how they and we continue to push innovation.

Want to know more?

If you have any questions, get in touch and speak to one of our experts today. For information about how our Financial Services frameworks can help you optimise your finances so you can bolster frontline funding, take a look at our Financial Services page.

A message to our customers (COVID-19)

Dear Customer

SUPPORT WITH URGENT COVID-19 RELATED COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

As the UK faces the challenges that COVID-19 is bringing, Crown Commercial Service has taken steps to ensure we can continue to provide assistance to customers who require urgent commercial support to maintain public services, as we tackle the threat posed by the spread of the virus.

Crown Commercial Service recognises that, as a result of the continued disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus, you may have critical and/or unusual or one-off procurement requirements. If you urgently need commercial support or advice that you feel we can help with please do contact us. 

We can assist with commercial category expertise, reviewing existing contracts, looking at the feasibility of direct awards and running accelerated further competitions. 

To let us know what support you need, please email us at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk and title your message COVID-19 URGENT PROCUREMENT. We will review your needs and a colleague from Crown Commercial Service will be in touch with you as a matter of priority. 

A new Policy Procurement Notice has been posted and is attached to this communication for reference. This PPN sets out information and guidance on how you can use the public procurement regulations effectively in responding to challenges faced during these exceptional circumstances.

We appreciate also that where your needs are not COVID-19 related, they may still be business critical. Where you would normally reach out to Crown Commercial Service, please do continue to do so in the usual way. This may include talking to the relevant Customer Experience colleagues or Category Lead. If you are unsure about how to get in touch, you can also email us at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk. All emails received will be triaged to ensure that the most urgent needs are dealt with as quickly as possible.  

Please be assured that over the coming weeks and months we will work with you and help in whatever way we can as we face these challenges together. Please do not hesitate to contact us and let us know what you need.

 

Tracy Clark
Director Customer Experience
Crown Commercial Service