THE Prime Minister today outlined his plans to ‘build build build’
and ‘build back better’ during a speech in the West Midlands, intended to help
the country – and economy – bounce back as quickly as possible. Gerard Toplass,
executive chairman at Pagabo, reacts to the investment promises and
discusses how procurement can assist with the delivery on government promises.
The news that GDP for April alone collapsed by 20.4% has been seen by many as a clear sign that the UK is now in recession. COVID-19 and its impacts on numerous industries have been catastrophic in many cases, but with the latest announcements the government has recognised how critical the construction sector will be to our recovery.
However,
the COVID-19 response in delivering the NHS Nightingale hospitals within a
matter of weeks has highlighted how quickly critical works can be mobilised –
something highlighted in the Prime Minister’s speech as he announced the
Infrastructure Delivery Task Force – also known as Project Speed. Led by
chancellor Rishi Sunak, this taskforce will be responsible for speeding up work
on schools, hospitals, road and rail infrastructure.
Among
this work, £100m for 29 road projects including bridge repairs in Sandell and
the A15 in the Humber region, £10m for development work to ease the bottleneck
on Manchester’s railway network to begin this year and £900m for local
‘shovel-ready schemes’ are just a few areas that have been identified. £1.5bn
has been set aside for hospital maintenance, hospital building and improving
A&E capacity – along with the promise of 40 brand-new hospitals.
The
Prime Minister has promised not just to ‘build build build’, but also to ‘build
back greener’, with plans for cycleways across the country, committing to
planting 75,000 acres of trees each year from 2025 and £40m ringfenced for
local conservation projects.
£1bn
has also been promised over the next decade for new schools, along with
additional funding for repairing existing school and further education
facilities, with construction of the first 50 schools to start in September
2021.
The
foundations of this work were beginning to be laid earlier in June, when the
Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick, addressed a letter to all mayors and LEP
chairs around the UK about the ways in which government can support local
recovery and laid out a search for these ‘shovel-ready capital projects’ able
to be delivered in the next 18 months.
Planning
permissions have also been given a break in the light of COVID-19. Permissions
usually expire after three years if the work has not been started, but those
sites that have an expiry date between the beginning of lockdown and the end of
2020 will be now be granted an extension to April 2021.
This
means that developers will not need to submit a new application where
permission or content expires during this window, which will reduce costs and
time delays for both firms and local planning authorities.
A
big drive for all of this is to help keep the construction industry moving –
and get it back to its normal productivity levels as soon as possible. It will
come as a surprise to no one that construction output dropped by record levels
(40 per cent) during April – the height of the lockdown period and a time of
confusion on what the lockdown meant for building sites, and what was expected
of construction firms.
It
was on 13 May that the government gave its first indication of how important it
is to ‘keep Britain building’, along with support. From that date sites were
able to operate until 9pm Monday to Saturday in residential areas and beyond
that in non-residential areas. It was a clear position from the government that
planning applications should be approved by local councils unless there were
compelling reasons to do so.
It
is of course in the government’s interest to ensure that construction
programmes plough ahead to meet previous targets and delivery on its election
promises to invest £250bn in the UK’s infrastructure. It has estimated that by
the end of June, more than 400 residential permissions providing more than
24,000 new homes would have expired – a huge hit to the Conservative party’s
promises during the election.
At
this time, being able to procure works quickly via a framework will help speed
us along the road to recovery in construction. We were really pleased to see
government supporting this early on in the pandemic with the COVID-19, PPN 1/20
issued by the Cabinet Office, permitting works, goods or services to be
procured urgently by authorities.
We
were the only framework provider to waive fees for works being procured using
the PPN 1/20, and our frameworks allow for direct award as well as further
competition, allowing public sector bodies a fast route to getting shovels in
the ground – all ensuring contract compliance and being reassured that delivery
teams are secure.
Pagabo
has also just announced the details of our newest framework – the first
dedicated to developers – which will play a part in the industry’s return to a
boom, while also allowing developers the opportunity to secure new work through
compliant procurement.
The
Cabinet Office released a further procurement policy notice during June – PPN
04/20 – Recovery and transition from covid-19, which extends the relief
available to public sector suppliers under PPN 02/20 – supplier relief due to
covid-19 until 21 October 2020. This new PPN applies to all contracting
authorities across the public sector, which must ‘continue to pay suppliers as
quickly as possible on receipt of invoices or in accordance with pre-agreed
milestone dates to maintain cashflow and protect jobs.’
This
is another area where the use of frameworks can ensure security and speed of
procuring works, as frameworks must provide simple, affordable and accessible
solutions. Frameworks operate in different ways, but it is important for
providers like us to be open and honest about fees. There is no such thing as a
rebate free framework, but the way Pagabo charges on a ‘pay as you go’ basis
offers clients clarity – and the ability to manage fees through the life cycle
of the project.
The
government already had ambitious targets for construction prior to COVID-19, so
ensuring that the path to recovery is a short one is absolutely crucial in
achieving those promises and delivering the necessary infrastructure projects
that have also arisen out of the pandemic, such as improving the infrastructure
to support digital connectivity and improving transport systems to allow for
social distancing.
We
strongly believe that the quickest and most efficient way to procure is using a
framework agreement — particularly one with a designated Direct Award process.
Our frameworks allow for direct award and provide clients with a ready-made,
simple and compliant solution, accelerating access to works, goods and services
providers.
As
a framework provider, we can help government ambition not just with progressing
construction works quickly and effectively, but with pace as well.
For more information, please visit https://www.pagabo.co.uk/.
