Government Commercial Agency

Business, procurement, supply chain and commercial, complex and transformation and strategic consultancy options are all now available following the launch of the Management Consultancy Framework Two on 4 September.

Webinars

Starting on 16 October, we will be hosting regular webinars to support public sector customers interested in using the frameworks. If you would like to join us to find out more please check out all the available dates and book your place.

To ensure you get the most from each webinar places are limited to 10 per session. Make sure you don’t miss out – reserve your space now.

If you have a particular requirement or topic you would like us to cover please let us know – we may be able to run a webinar specifically for your organisation.

Benefits

Our management consultancy frameworks offer you the benefits of:

Assurance

• all our suppliers are Cyber Essentials accredited
• standard terms and conditions
• financial monitoring of suppliers

Value for money

• maximum rates are capped for the life of the framework
• further competition is the recommended way to ensure best value
• choice of pricing models including fixed, risk and reward or time and materials

Easy access

a selection tool to help you quickly shortlist suitable suppliers
comprehensive guidance and templates to make getting started as straightforward as possible

Expertise

• all suppliers will share their knowledge with you as part of their contract, meaning you can build your organisation’s future capability
• all suppliers can help you put their advice into practice, if required
• procurement support from a dedicated and knowledgeable team at CCS

Choice

• a wide range of suppliers from SMEs to large multinationals
• sector based lots give you access to a broad range of industry experts
• Download a brochure for further details of the scope of services available.

We’re here to help

For more information on how we can help you optimise your consultancy requirements, achieve efficiencies and make savings please get in touch.

You can also visit the web page or call us on 0345 410 2222.

The latest Fit Out agreement (RM6073) is now available providing services for design, renovation and refurbishment of new and existing buildings. Its purpose is to support the modernisation and rationalisation of the Government Estate.

What is Fit Out?

Fit out and refurbishment is the process of developing new interior spaces or existing spaces to support new and more efficient ways of working. The wider public sector have the ability to create agile or activity based working following a construction phase, acquisition of a new property or review of existing property.

There are many benefits of how an office fit out affects work performance such as increased productivity, wellbeing and employee satisfaction. In addition, workplace design plays a pivotal role in demonstrating a business’s values.

Fit-outs can take a number of different forms such as Shell & Core, CAT A or CAT B, depending on the level of interior specification requirements.

• Shell & Core

This is the first stage of a buildings’ fit out which is provided by the developer and generally comprises of the basic structure of the building. This often includes key communal areas such as reception, lifts, stairwells, toilets and meeting rooms. Once completed, this space will simply be an empty “shell” on the inside.

• CAT A

A CAT A space primarily provided by a developer or landlord could be habitable, but is typically an open plan finish which is treated as a blank canvas. Typically a CAT A fit out will include: raised floors, suspended ceilings, basic electrical services, smoke alarms and finishes to internal walls.

• CAT B

This follows on from a CAT A fit out and is the completion part; allowing you to transform the blank canvas into a functioning space. This is usually tailored to the individual requirements of the business, delivering custom design elements which reflect your brand and work ethos. This could include anything from furniture, break out spaces, meeting rooms and office amenities.

Get Involved

With both UK and regional coverage, the fit out agreement provides either a traditional or design-and-build approach to your project and suppliers can advise on the best solutions to meet your requirements.

To find out more or if you have a specific question, please complete our form quoting RM6073 and one of our building experts will be in touch.

47 companies have been awarded places across 3 value-banded lots on CCS’s new Facilities Management Marketplace. The winning bidders include 10 small and medium-sized enterprises, bringing diversity and competition into the market for public sector contracts.

John Kenny, CCS Deputy Director for Workplace said: ‘The launch of the FM Marketplace allows the public sector to buy a wide range of facilities management services from the very best suppliers the market has to offer, all at competitive and sustainable prices.’

Mark Fox, Chief Executive of the British Services Association said: ‘We are pleased to work closely with the Crown Commercial Service to deliver a framework that will attract existing suppliers and new entrants alike. It is a positive step forward.’

The deal, covering expenditure of up to £12bn over the next four years, is expected to save public bodies up to 10% on the cost of procuring facilities management services like cleaning, maintenance, security and catering.

Customers will be able to require suppliers to demonstrate social value, specifying what this means to their organisation and testing the proposals, as a key part of the awarding of contracts.

It is the first agreement to make use of the Crown Commercial Service’s new, simplified Public Sector Contract, which was designed to make it easier for businesses to apply for Government contracts.

A second ‘phase’ for Workplace Services (RM6089), which includes placement of agreements in Security, Housing Maintenance and Defence FM, is being developed.

 

The latest Technology Expense Management (TEM) agreement (RM3802) is now live for customers. Through the agreement’s 7 services, customers can reduce communications infrastructure costs and achieve savings through improved management of telecom and related technology estates. The TEM agreement helps to drive control, enhance estate visibility, uncover savings and deliver real business value.

All UK public sector organisations can make significant savings through the TEM agreement which gives visibility to estates to help drive efficiencies, reduce costs or avoid them. It can also be of enormous help with reprocurement as it will identify exactly what assets an organisation has along  with assessing its needs.

Gareth Rhys-Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer said, “Technology Expense Management represents exactly the sort of initiative we are looking for to drive real savings for taxpayers.”

The previous TEM agreement which ended on 31 March 2018 helped customers save on average 20% of overall telecom spend in year 1.

Calero Software Limited, recognised in Gartner’s 2018 Market Guide for global TEM services, is the sole supplier for RM3802. As TEM involves bringing together billing, contractual and HR data onto a database, Calero’s IT system and security of personal data has been rigorously tested and assured to ensure customers have complete peace of mind that their data is safe when using the agreement.

Get involved

Interested in finding out more about our new TEM agreement? Complete our online form quoting ‘RM3802’ and one of our technology experts will be in touch.

The report shows £13 billion of common goods and services are now being procured through CCS, whose aim is to become the ‘go to’ provider for the procurement of common goods and services across the entire public sector.

During the year, CCS – an executive agency of the Cabinet Office – has delivered £354 million in commercial benefits including savings for central government, and £247 million for the wider public sector – helping to deliver world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.

CCS’s work is an important part of the #SmarterGov campaign, which aims to drive innovation and deliver savings and service improvements across the entire public sector.

At the same time, CCS has led on work to level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises, entered a new phase for the Crown Marketplace programme, and introduced its first Dynamic Purchasing Systems. CCS uses its commercial expertise and bulk buying power to help the UK public sector get the best deal on the everyday goods and services they need.

Tony van Kralingen, Chair of CCS, said: ‘The Crown Commercial Service continues to make good progress against its business plan and objectives. This is a testament to the quality and commitment of our people who have worked tirelessly to deliver against their objectives. I would like to record our appreciation for their efforts and congratulate them on their achievements.’

Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of CCS, said: ‘CCS has come a long way over the last two years. The organisation has some ambitious goals and together we have built strong foundations. I have no doubt that CCS will go from strength to strength in the coming years with a relentless focus on demonstrating value for money and providing excellent customer service.’

Performance highlights for 2017/18 include:

• £13bn of public sector spend channelled through CCS commercial agreements, an increase of £0.6bn from 2016/17
• Customers who have used CCS agreements have achieved commercial benefits worth £601m compared to current market comparators
• 1260 procurements (including call offs) carried out for customers
• Employee Engagement index as measured by the Civil Service People Survey has increased from 58% in 2016 to 63% in 2017
• Our Net Promoter Scores (NPS) for customer satisfaction are consistently positive, reaching +24 in Post Procurement Surveys and +36 in Post Enquiry Surveys over the year
• 28 new commercial agreements awarded during 2017/18

To read the full report and accounts, visit the annual report and accounts web pages.

The EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 will come into force on 25 May, the aim of which is to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches by putting stricter obligations on those who process personal data. The new regulations apply to all organisations operating in the EU that control and process personal data, both public and private, as well as those operating outside the EU that offer services to individuals in the EU.

What is GDPR?

The GDPR applies to data processing, which includes collecting, keeping, using, passing on and deleting personal data. It requires that individuals be given more information about how their personal data will be used through ‘enhanced privacy notices’, and gives individuals stronger rights to have their personal data updated, deleted or shared with them if they request it. Importantly, the systems used by organisations must be able to honour these rights, and organisations will need to keep a record of all personal data processing activities, and ensure that their contracts with suppliers contain specific clauses governing data processing by third parties.

What action should I take on contracts to ensure they are compliant?

GDPR will apply to new contracts let on or after 25 May and also to existing contracts put in place before May 2018 that continue after 25 May, that involve data processing.

The new regulations state that any processing of personal data by a ‘processor’ (e.g. a supplier which processes personal data on behalf of a customer) must be governed by a contract. This contract must include certain terms as specified in the regulation itself.

We have recently published a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) to inform you of your responsibilities – read the advice in the PPN here.

The PPN contains guidance on how to bring your existing and new contracts into line with these new requirements and provides a standard generic clause that can be inserted into contracts.

Please note the PPN was updated on 17 January to correct an error in clause 1.13.

The main actions to take include:

• writing to your suppliers to notify them of the changes you intend to make to relevant contracts to make them compliant with the new data protection regulations
• conducting due diligence on existing contracts to ensure suppliers can implement the appropriate technical and organisational measures to comply with GDPR
• updating your contract specification and service delivery schedules to set out clearly the roles and responsibilities of the controller and the processor and any sub-processors
• updating relevant contract terms and conditions, using the standard generic clauses provided in Annex A of PPN 03/17.

What about CCS commercial agreements – will they be updated too?

We are working hard to ensure all relevant existing and new commercial agreements are updated in line with the new regulations, that suppliers are well informed of our plans, and that customers will be able to access GDPR compliant deals as soon as possible.

The role of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

There is a risk the ICO will issue fines to organisations found not to be compliant with GDPR. Commercial teams should work closely with their data protection leads in their organisations to ensure a seamless transition to GDPR compliant data processing.

Got a question? Please get in touch.

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you save time and money please join us for one of our short webinars.

In 2018 we’ll be running a programme of webinars on a wide range of topics, and our Introduction to CCS webinar is aimed at individuals who are not familiar with CCS and would like to understand more about how we work.

It will be ideal if you are new to procurement, new to your organisation or have not used CCS before as we will explain to you:

• The products and services we can help you buy
• Deciding on the best way to buy
• How we can support you
• What you can expect to save

Our introduction to CCS webinars last 30 minutes.

If you would like to attend we have the following date available:

19 March at 2:30pm – register for the webinar.

If you are unable to attend the above webinars look out for extra dates coming soon!

If you would like to be kept up to date with upcoming webinars, you can sign up to receive our newsletter.

You can also learn more about CCS by exploring the content on this site using the links above.

Getting all your immediate technology product needs is now as easy as clicking your mouse thanks to the Purchasing Platform from CCS. It gives you online access to great prices on a range of off-the-shelf IT products. Most importantly, using the Purchasing Platform will help you save you both money and time and offers a compliant route to market.

Buying from the Purchasing Platform can mean an average 8% saving and on some products and as high as 30% compared with Amazon. Prices are updated daily to ensure you are always getting best value.

Using the Purchasing Platform means there is no need to hunt around getting 3 quotes. We’ve done all the hard price comparison work already and on most products you will immediately get at least 3 prices and an industry benchmark price indicating a market target  price for that day.

It is totally free to use with pre-agreed terms and conditions with suppliers and if you have any questions CCS is here to help you. You can buy with confidence as we’ve done all the due diligence checks to ensure all suppliers are assured, audited and financially secure. Use your ePCS card and you may even benefit from end of year rebates.

The platform allows you to search and compare all products through an easy-to-use click and buy catalogue. The platform is so flexible it meets different buying scenarios as used by customer organisations. Once you have found your products, you can either pay by card, issues an online purchase order or, hold a fixed price quote for 30 days (should you need approval or use another purchasing system).

When it comes to payment, using the Purchasing Platform could not be easier. There are many ways to pay including using your ePCS card, debit and credit cards. If you need your products really quickly, a next day delivery option is often available.

Using the Purchasing Platform is just one of the many ways that CCS is here to help you with all your technology requirements.

So to start benefiting from the Purchasing Platform sign-up today at purchasingplatform.crowncommercial.gov.uk and start transforming your procurement in a click.