Courier and Specialist Movements

As cities across the UK are introducing low emission zones, courier suppliers are able to provide customers with the options to use alternative vehicles for their deliveries, reducing carbon emissions and removing surcharges for any deliveries into low or clean zone areas.

A number of supplier depots within UK cities already operate a fully electric delivery service,  which includes London, Bristol and Glasgow.

Suppliers are consolidating deliveries, looking at route planning to deliver efficiencies and maximising their networks, reducing their final mile emissions.

Our courier and specialist movements agreement can provide public sector customers with access to suppliers who have the ability to provide alternative vehicles for final mile deliveries.

Take a look at our agreement to find the full range of possibilities: 

Let us bring power to your procurement

To learn more about how we can help you reach net zero across your organisation, visit our Carbon net zero web page. If you have any questions, we are here to help – contact the team.

Postal Goods, Services and Solutions

This is done by removing traditional paper letters and communications and reducing the need for vehicles to transport them.

We also have new energy-efficient office equipment as well as remanufactured equipment options that will further enable you to minimise your environmental impacts.

Similar to courier and logistics, the postal market is transitioning to alternative and low carbon fuel vehicles for the collection and final mile delivery of post, further reducing emissions and increasing the options for delivery within clean air zones.

Take a look at our agreements to find the full range of possibilities: 

Let us bring power to your procurement

To learn more about how we can help you reach net zero across your organisation, visit our Carbon net zero web page. If you have any questions, we are here to help – contact the team.

Transport Technology

Government initiatives, from the transition to electric vehicles to the use of sustainable aviation fuels, highlight the important role of transport technology in delivering on our Net Zero commitments. 

We are supporting this journey through our Transport Technology and Associates Services (TTAS) agreement.

Road Sector 

The transition to zero emission vehicles, support for active travel and greater uptake of public transport are at the heart of the Government’s decarbonisation strategy for the road sector. 

We are working with customers and policy leads to ensure that our electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions keep pace with a rapidly evolving market. We are supporting local government with initiatives that improve air quality through the deployment of clean air zones. Our suppliers are deploying innovative solutions that prioritise public transport and protect vulnerable road users at road junctions – helping busses keep to schedule, and encouraging active travel.    

We recently supported Bristol City Council in the deployment of ANPR camera technology with associated services that control the entry of high polluting vehicles into the city centre, reducing pollution and improving citizens’ health. Find out more about the Bristol clean air zone.

Rail Sector 

The rail sector has been hit hard by the covid pandemic and the transition to home working, with rail passenger numbers dropping by 78% from pre-pandemic levels. Encouraging commuters and the public out of cars and back onto trains is vital for local economies but it also offers a cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable mode of transport. Rail freight also plays a key role in reducing both congestion and carbon emissions – with each freight train taking 76 HGVs off the road. 

The TTAS agreement was designed to meet the needs of the rail sector, offering consultancy, transport engineering and design services from market leading providers. TTAS has over 30 suppliers with dedicated rail sector expertise, as well as products and services to support safe and efficient passenger flows at stations.  

The TVS agreement provides rail booking services to meet all business travel requirements.  All suppliers offer online booking tools that make the booking of rail tickets quick and easy.  Some tools assist travellers in comparing the CO2 emissions of plane vs train journeys, to help drive those sustainable travel decisions.

Maritime  

In March 2022 DfT announced the launch of UK Shore – an office dedicated to making maritime greener through new technology. The ambition goes beyond green ships and vessels, with the publication of Port Air Quality strategies and targets for at least one major port in the UK to have all shore-side activity zero emission.

TTAS suppliers are well placed to support the delivery of these strategies including supporting the business case for targeted action, modelling scenarios through the use of digital twins, and providing the sensors and data analytics to measure the impact.   

Aviation 

Commercial aviation has been fundamental to the growth and prosperity of the UK but the sector also produces around 12% of CO2 emissions from all transport sources. Technologies to support electric and hydrogen powered flight are in their infancy but the sector is exploring increased use of sustainable aviation fuel as a route to decarbonise. 

TTAS can support policymakers and public sector bodies with transport modelling, strategy development and environmental monitoring solutions. TTAS solutions are also widely applicable to airport ground operations, and transport to and from airports.  

Transport Technology and Associated Services solutions can be procured through further competition, delivering the best possible price, or standalone direct award through a catalogue where there is an urgent requirement or where there is little value gained from a further competition. 

TTAS has a dedicated sustainable technologies lot. Our leading suppliers can provide consultancy services, and help customers decide on what technologies and systems would be best for tackling their challenges. Our TTAS team can provide support through the whole procurement life cycle. 

The CCS Air Programme is available to all customers using PSGTVS and TVS agreements and currently contains discounts on 5,000+ routes.  Our relationship with a multitude of carriers enables us to keep across developments in sustainability, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Carbon Offsetting and new aircraft technologies.  

The current programme runs through to March 2023 and later this year we will begin work on the next agreement to go live in April 2023.  Sustainability will form a significantly increased role in the criteria for airlines to qualify.     

Take a look at our agreements to find the full range of possibilities: 

Let us bring power to your procurement

To learn more about how we can help you reach net zero across your organisation, visit our Carbon net zero web page. If you have any questions, we are here to help – contact the team.

Upcoming Demand Management and Renewables (DMR) agreement

The Estates Decarbonisation team have been developing the new replacements for the current Heat Network and Electricity Generation Assets (HELGA) DPS Agreement. 

The new Demand Management and Renewables (DMR) DPS and Framework will provide effective routes to market from solar panels to heat networks that can support organisations’ decarbonisation strategies and targets.

The DMR DPS is expected to be available to customers from early November 2022. The DPS has improved filtering structure and updated procurement policy that will provide access to SMEs and large energy providers via further competition procurement.

The DMR Framework is expected to launch in May 2023. This new traditional framework approach will provide customers with a route to market within the following 5 Lot areas with customers able to utilise industry call-off options and an Alliance contract approach.

  • Lot 1 – Solar Photovoltaic 
  • Lot 2 – Battery energy storage
  • Lot 3 – Heat Pumps
  • Lot 4 – Heat Networks 
  • Lot 5 – CNZ Consultancy

The team will be hosting a webinar in the coming weeks to provide a wider update. If you would be interested in being part of the evaluation of the DMR Framework next year or would like to understand our strategy further, please contact the team at  demandmanagement@crowncommercial.gov.uk  

Discover how DBS improved their customer satisfaction scores by using our contact centre agreement

Background

The Disclosure and Barring Service’s new contact centre provider helped to improve their customer satisfaction scores

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions by processing and issuing DBS checks for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

The DBS has been ranked the highest-rated public service organisation for customer satisfaction throughout the UK. They wanted to keep customer satisfaction scores high whilst continuing to deliver a reliable service.

The requirement

The DBS had a requirement to procure a new outsourcing contract for their contact centre services. The supplier would be responsible for processing requests for, and issuing, DBS checks for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

The supplier would need to have the capability to deliver on the two key aspects of the DBS service:

  • the disclosure process supports a request from an applicant for disclosure of criminal records and local police intelligence. It includes the production and despatch of the disclosure certificate, as well as managing any challenges by an applicant of the certificate content
  • the barring process supports the assessment of an individual’s suitability to work with children or vulnerable adults, from referral to a decision to bar or not to bar and appropriate updates to the barred list.

The solution

With the support of our Contact Centre category team, the DBS undertook a series of market engagement sessions that identified the best solution for their requirement was to run a further competition using lot 2 of the Contact Centre Services framework.

This would allow the DBS to award to a single supplier to transition and deliver existing contact centre and business process outsourcing services provided by the incumbent supplier.

HGS was awarded a 3 and a half year contract to become DBS’s contact centre service partner. They provide a multi-channel contact centre which manages contacts from applicants regarding system issues as well as the status of their application in the process through a range of channels including web portal, web chat, inbound telephony and SMS.

The outcome

With the support of HGS, the DBS received a customer satisfaction score of 81.4 out of 100, with the average score for public sector organisations sitting at 76.9.

The DBS was also ranked highly by customers in areas such as reputation and trust, and whether they would recommend using DBS services in future.

The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), which was published in January 2022, has shown that the DBS is the highest-rated public sector organisation in the UK for customer satisfaction.

The UKCSI is published twice a year by the Institute of Customer Service and details an increase in DBS’ customer satisfaction score from January 2021 to January 2022.

Within the report, the DBS was benchmarked against 10 other public sector organisations including HM Passport Office, the Environment Agency, and the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

The independent index is calculated using feedback from around 10,000 consumers in an online survey covering 13 different sectors, and over 260 public and private organisations.

Eric Robinson, CEO of The DBS, said:

“We are incredibly very proud that DBS has been recognised as the highest-rated public sector organisation for customer satisfaction in the UK. The result demonstrates the organisation’s strong commitment to providing high quality services and the dedication and hard work of DBS staff which has been even more important during the pandemic for the customers we serve. 

We welcome feedback from the survey and we will use the findings alongside responses from our own DBS customer survey to ensure we continue to further improve services for our customers.”

Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, added:

“Through this challenging period, some businesses have adapted well and responded to changes in their customers’ circumstances and needs. DBS’ strong showing in the UKCSI is encouraging and shows that public sector organisations – much like those in the private sector – who build trust and deliver on their promises will be rewarded with customer loyalty.”

Let us bring power to your procurement

Our contact centre solutions cover people, technology and consultancy and business services including HR, source-to-pay, payroll and financial accounting. 

If you would like any further information, please get in touch:

5 tips to refine and communicate your benefits package during the cost of living crisis

Here we share 5 tips for communicating these benefits and bringing them together into a package that resonates with people. These are based on feedback from HR leads in the public sector who were interviewed by Edenred, the supplier on our Employee Benefits framework.

  • Listen to employees more

Right now public sector employers are checking in on their workforces more regularly. Either through official surveys or improved communication through line managers that are being trained to listen to employee concerns more intently. They say this is critical to ensuring that communication stays open and honest and the benefits they offer in response to the crisis stay flexible and relevant.

  • Ensure employees can speak up anonymously

Not all employees are open to sharing any troubles they may be having – or indeed feel like they have anyone they can talk to if they work alone regularly. This has led to an increase in anonymous communications channels that can also be used to refine offerings and highlight benefits that are most relevant. 

  • Create financial wellbeing hubs 

While most organisations said that financial wellbeing has been on their radar for a while, they also admitted that resources haven’t been as coordinated in the past as they could have been. This year’s cost of living crisis has been a catalyst for change that has seen many public sector employers pull all their financial wellbeing offerings and advice together into a single hub. This includes clearer signposting to both existing resources and new resources such as energy consumption advice services that have been added to tackle the current crisis.

  • Bring financial, physical and mental wellbeing support together

As well as creating financial wellbeing hubs, HR teams have also focused on bringing financial, physical and wellbeing together to provide more rounded and connected support. Many have also appointed new overall wellbeing leads that provide more accountability and drive adoption of the benefits available. 

  • Communication is key – to all parts of the workforce 

Without exception, all the HR directors Edenred interviewed also stressed the importance of making sure that communication around financial support is clear and focused. It’s important that this communication is also set up to reach field workers that rarely have access to PCs or a desk. 

One HR leader working for a local authority put it like this: “More than ever, we’re working closely with our comms team to make sure that people get the message that we’re here to provide support. Like lots of other organisations, we do have challenges around reaching all of our workforce, but we’re working hard to put systems in place to connect everyone and make sure that key information reaches everyone, regardless of how or where they work.”

Make the most of our Employee Benefits Framework

By following these tips you can maximise the range of employee benefits we provide through an online employee benefits platform available from our Employee Benefits framework.

The 9 core benefits for employees are schemes for childcare vouchers, cycling to work, reward and recognition, payroll giving, employee discounts, discounted gym membership, technology and smartphone discounts, financial wellbeing and green car incentives. 

The benefits for you as a buyer include:

  • consistency of benefits and price across the public sector
  • easy call-off using a single supplier route
  • all benefits accessible through one benefits platform
  • user access using an app-based application
  • a broad range of benefits to meet your reward strategies
  • flexibility to add additional benefits to tailor your offer to meet the cost of living crisis

Find out more by visiting the Employee Benefits framework page.

Customer newsletters for August

Welcome to our monthly newsletters. You can read the latest news most relevant to the sector you work in by selecting the appropriate link below:

If you don’t currently receive our monthly customer newsletter, you can sign up by completing this short form. Each month, we’ll send you the newsletter most relevant to you, based on your organisation.

You will also find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.

We can help local authorities with their refugee resettlement needs

Local authorities have taken on the responsibility for 2 specific and substantial refugee resettlement programmes since April 2021: the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Programme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

These vulnerable individuals often need help at very short notice which can be challenging for local authorities to manage. That’s why our local government team has taken the time to understand these challenges and highlight how our solutions can help.

Funds distribution and voucher scheme aggregations

It can be difficult for local authorities to get funds to refugees where cash may be their preferred option.

Funds disbursement involves a range of options, including vouchers, barcodes and SMS, either direct to individuals or through distribution points. It is a great solution for the most vulnerable and for citizens needing access to restricted funds.

If you are looking for a voucher scheme that can provide access to a wide range of retailers, then the voucher schemes agreement is ideal for you. You can choose and manage the shops the vouchers can work in, from groceries to clothing. The framework enables direct award of a contract to a supplier who could set up a scheme and start delivering vouchers in as little as 10 days.

We are planning to run 2 national aggregations through our funds disbursement and voucher schemes agreements. We run aggregations to combine purchases of similar procurement needs across multiple organisations, resulting in significant savings for those involved.

If you would like to learn more, or register your interest in either of these aggregations, contact us.

Language and learning solutions

If you have refugees that need assistance with the English language, or are lacking a basic education, we are able to provide solutions that can be put in place to make life easier.

Our Language Services agreement offers services that include translation, machine translation, interpretation and remote interpreting options. This may be particularly helpful for supporting refugees to integrate into the community, as well as reading and completing important forms and documents.

For local authorities, this agreement also has a regional lot structure providing access to a range of local suppliers – an important consideration if there is an urgent need for services.

The Learning and Training Services agreement can help refugees who would like to receive an education, including learning the English language and maths to increase their ability to integrate and contribute to society. As well as standard training, this agreement also provides access to niche training options from a large group of pre-qualified training providers, all in one place.

Accommodation

Accommodation for refugees may be in short supply, whether social housing or in the private rented sector. This can be a particular challenge when needing to house vulnerable citizens. We have 2 agreements that can support the accommodation of our refugees.

The Modular Buildings agreement provides a simple, low-cost way to address short and long term needs. You can buy or hire buildings and they are well suited to provide accommodation for those in urgent need. Read the Reading Borough Council modular buildings case study.

Often with very short notice and lacking documentation, it can be challenging to find short term accommodation for refugees. The Travel and Venue Solutions agreement can help local authorities to support refugees through a managed provider service. You can source and book overnight accommodation, as well as find specialist services for those with specific needs, like an additional visa or crisis management services.

Prepaid cards

Another way to support refugees financially can be through lot 2 of our Payment Solutions agreement. Prepaid cards are an alternative to cash and allow for a predetermined amount to be loaded onto the card. Controls can be placed on the card, for example transaction types can be blocked. Spend parameters can be controlled by the local authority that provides them.

Get in touch

Our commercial solutions are here to help local authorities face the challenges of today and tomorrow. To find out more about how we can help you provide refugee support:

National aggregation opportunity for distribution of the Household Support Fund and other funding initiatives

As our local authority customers know, significant challenges can occur when trying to disburse payments quickly and efficiently to people through government initiatives like the Household Support Fund.

The pace at which payments happen has meant some local authorities simply have not had the time or resources to find a supplier that can help them make payments. For suppliers, the sheer volume of requests is also creating challenges.

How we can help local authorities

We have a number of frameworks in place to enable disbursement of funds, either as cash, prepaid cards, or vouchers. To reduce the time and resources required to use these solutions, we would like to develop an aggregated contract solely for local authorities, to be delivered through a single supplier. This will result in a continuous, compliant contract and the combined volumes will allow us to achieve a competitive price based on economies of scale. If you haven’t purchased this way through us before, find out more about our aggregation service.

Even if you have a temporary arrangement already in place, you should still consider taking part in the aggregation as there is no obligation to use. As long as your organisation is named on the contract, you can transition across on a date that suits you.  

Next steps

The next round of funding is expected in October 2022 so we need to move quickly to put an arrangement in place.  

If you are interested in learning more please contact Gemma Watters by Friday 19 August 2022.

We are living in the age of the Playbook

We are living in the age of the Playbook.

The publication in March of the Digital, Data and Technology Playbook added another aspect to the Government’s vision of procurement best practice in the UK – a field which has seen major interventions over recent years in some of the most significant spend areas for public sector procurement.

Digital, data and technology joins consultancy and construction as areas where the Government is leading and shaping our commercial approach as contracting authorities.

These playbooks set out how departments should approach procurement and programmes of activity, and their application is assured through Cabinet Office controls. They also outline the Government’s expectations for how contracting authorities and suppliers should engage with each other.

At Crown Commercial Service, we’ve made significant progress building the substance of the Government’s playbooks into our products right now – enabling better outcomes for our 20,000 customers across the public sector.

Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT)

The 11 key policy reforms set out in the DDaT playbook cover everything from the development and publication of commercial pipelines to effective contracting, open and interoperable data and code, and supplier assurance. CCS can support contracting authorities’ strategic planning in these areas in a number of ways. 

We hold a wealth of market intelligence and commercial expertise in technology procurement, including in the specialist fields of cyber security, big data, AI and cloud computing. Our technology frameworks see billions of pounds-worth of spend on DDaT products and services every year, including significant direct spend with SMEs. Our range of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with major suppliers standardise and optimise pricing across the whole public sector, and our commercial agreements provide firm foundations for meeting the Playbook’s recommended contractual baseline of commercial, technical, security and legal principles.

Construction

Having led the drafting process, covering early supplier engagement, outcome-based specifications, effective contracting, risk management, long-term planning and the overall procurement process, CCS continues to be part of the steering group supporting and overseeing the Construction Playbook’s implementation.

Our Construction experts are instrumental in shaping the public sector’s approach in the field, most recently launching our new partnership construction agreement with NHS England, which is both playbook-compliant and meets the new construction Gold Standard. This brings together our own construction procurement offer with the next generation of the ProCure agreement – helping to rationalise the number of public sector construction frameworks in operation, as recommended in the Playbook.

Consultancy

The Consultancy Playbook recommends that commercial teams should first consider whether there is a suitable CCS agreement to go to market through. Using CCS’s consultancy frameworks ‘provides an efficient route to market… allowing users to reduce cost, mitigate risk and maintain delivery assurance.’

Since its launch, CCS has worked closely with partners including the Government Consulting Hub, Cabinet Office’s Markets and Suppliers team, and Crown Representatives to increase the Government’s in-house capacity and expertise, boost collaboration, and ensure that, where external expertise is required, the public sector makes better decisions based on firmer data.

The age of the Playbook – find out more

You can find a full list of Crown Commercial Service commercial agreements and details of how to build policy considerations into your procurement in our interactive digital brochure.

Noreen Winhall, Commercial Director, Buildings at Crown Commercial Service

This article was originally published in Public Sector Executive.