In just over a weeks’ time, Glasgow City Region will formally launch the latest contract pipeline for its £1 billion City Deal infrastructure programme including details of over £150 million worth of tier one infrastructure contracts due to go to open tender in the coming three years.
A free online business event, held in partnership with the Supplier Development Programme, will provide a virtual platform to showcase details of the Region’s upcoming contract opportunities, with three Talking Tender workshops also taking place where business can hear more about specific upcoming City Deal projects and their contracts.
Representatives from the eight City Region councils will be on hand at virtual exhibition stands throughout the day to talk through their City Deal programmes and projects, as well as wider council capital investment programmes, outlining what contracts are coming up to award and when.
Councillor Susan Aitken, Chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet and Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Our City Deal is helping to protect the Region’s jobs and businesses from the impacts of Covid-19. In fact, to date local companies have benefitted from over £110 million worth of City Deal contracts. This event will give our partner councils the chance to engage with the business community at different stages of project timelines to tell them about upcoming contract opportunities. “I’d urge local businesses in these industries to register for this free online event to find out more and to hear what support is available.”
The contract pipeline is being issued before the event so that relevant businesses get advance notice of contracts coming up that they could either bid for or which they are already on a framework for – and then register to attend the event to find out more.
UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “The UK Government is investing £500 million into infrastructure projects in the region and I welcome this latest contract pipeline launch as these schemes will bring many jobs to the area. Communities should benefit from start to finish from government projects, so I encourage the region’s businesses to take full advantage of this latest round of contracts. Across Scotland we are investing more than £1.5 billion into Growth Deal projects that will help us to build back better from the pandemic.”
Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said: “I’m very pleased that the latest contract pipeline for the Glasgow City Region Deal will be launched in the coming weeks. This is a great opportunity for local businesses and I would encourage participation in the online event. The Scottish Government is a full partner in the Glasgow City Region Deal, contributing £500 million over 20 years. Contracts awarded through the Deal will contribute to the region’s economic recovery by creating jobs, and providing the commercial infrastructure to support and attract businesses to Glasgow and the surrounding areas.”
A new Regional strategy for Sustainable Procurement and Community Benefits will also be formally launched at the event.
With procurement spend across the eight Regional councils in the realm of £2 billion per annum, there is an enormous opportunity for local companies and SMEs of all sizes to bid for and win not only tier one contracts but all of the ensuing sub contracts coming through from those. The strategy sets out an intention to bring on board other key Regional public sector partners as part of the collaborative approach and also to go beyond the City Deal to include the wider capital infrastructure procurement programmes of all eight councils in the Region. Work is already underway to map out an overall Capital Investment Plan which will show planned capital investment for public sector agencies across the whole City Region area for the next three years.
Councillor Aitken continued: “We are determined that decisions we make in procurement will address inequalities and climate change, benefit local communities and, vitally provide opportunities for local businesses. As the Region prepares to host COP26, we are fully committed to exploring how procurement can support our net zero carbon ambitions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. We have big asks too of businesses who win our contracts to support all of these ambitions; to work more closely with us to open up supply chains to support local SMEs; to deliver community benefits that really make a difference – that help local young people, communities and those that need it most; and to support work in climate change and reducing emissions.”
The new Glasgow City Region City Deal Infrastructure Tier One Contract Pipeline is available here: www.glasgowcityregion.co.uk/Procurement
Follow Glasgow City Region on twitter and continue to visit the above website where updates on companies winning contracts will be posted along with details of upcoming Talking Tenders workshops and supply chain events.
Gillian Cameron, Programme Manager of the Supplier Development Programme, said:
“Meet the Buyer 2021 is the event of the year for supplier engagement with buyers, particularly as the public sector turns towards economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses will be able to raise their profile as a business, learn about upcoming bidding opportunities through the Glasgow City Region City Deal that could offer much-needed stability in the long-term, and be supported every step of the way through the Supplier Development Programme.”
Nearly 2,000 suppliers have already registered to attend Meet the Buyer 2021. Businesses interested in registering for the event taking place on 8 June should visit www.sdpscotland.co.uk/events-mtb/ to book a place. Registrations will be accepted until Friday, 4 June.
The Glasgow City Region session will run in the afternoon, starting at 2 pm on the virtual Inclusive Growth stage, with running order, as follows:
2:00pm Glasgow City Region City Deal
- Address by Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet
- Address by Kevin Rush, Director of Regional Economic Growth
2:10pm Launch of Glasgow City Region City Deal Contract Pipeline
- Presentation by Dorothy Balfour, Category Manager at North Lanarkshire Council
- Live Q&A Session
2:20pm Glasgow City Region City Deal: Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside Project
- Presentation by Jim Armour, Contracts Manager, Graham Construction
- Live Q&A Session with Renfrewshire Council and Graham Construction
- Rebecca Park, City Deal and Infrastructure Team Category Manager at Renfrewshire Council
- Jim Armour, Contracts Manager, Graham Construction
- Dylan Rae, Procurement Manager at Graham Construction
2:45pm Glasgow City Region City Deal: Former Exxon Mobil Fuel Depot at Milton Development
- Presentation by Robin Abram, Capital Projects Manager at West Dunbartonshire Council
- Live Q&A Session with West Dunbartonshire Council
- Robin Abram, Capital Projects Manager
- Michael McGuinness, Economic Development Manager
- Angus Cameron, Strategic Procurement
- Andrew Duncan, Senior Procurement Officer
3:15pm Glasgow City Region City Deal: Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure Development
- Presentation by Jonathan Speed, Senior Project Manager at North Lanarkshire Council
- Live Q&A Session with North Lanarkshire Council
- Jonathan Speed, Senior Project Manager
- Dorothy Balfour, Category Manager
The City Deal
The Glasgow City Region City Deal will fund major infrastructure projects; create thousands of new jobs and assist thousands of unemployed people back to work; improve public transport and connectivity; drive business innovation and growth and generate billions of pounds of private sector investment. The ground-breaking City Deal, the first in Scotland and one of the largest and the most advanced in the UK, was signed in August 2014 by the eight member authorities with the UK and Scottish Governments. The partnership, with Glasgow as the lead authority, was the first to benefit from City Deal funding from both the UK and Scottish Governments, with £500 million provided from each for infrastructure investment and the local authorities contributing a further £130 million.
The eight partner councils, representing a population of 1.8 million, are Glasgow City Council, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire.
Frameworks
Many council contracts are procured via an existing council, Scottish Government or Scotland Excel framework agreement. Framework agreements are set up to provide best value – both in saving time and money for the public purse. A framework will usually include a range of large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). When a council is seeking to procure using the framework, the companies on the framework can bid for the contract.
Supplier Development Programme
The Supplier Development Programme is a publicly-funded partnership led by local authorities, working in conjunction with Scottish Government and other public bodies, to bring Scottish SMEs support in all aspects of tendering. By assisting businesses to become tender ready for public procurement, SDP improves all-round efficiency, sustainability and market potential.
In Scotland, there is an annual public spend of £12.6 billion. The Supplier Development Programme offers free training throughout Scotland to Scottish SMEs, third sector and supported businesses to support and champion them tendering for this work.
Meet the Buyer is Scotland’s largest, free annual procurement event. The 12th Annual Meet the Buyer 2021 will take place as a live, virtual event. Headline partners include the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Region and Scotland Excel.
