Constructing Excellence’s Post

If you're tendering for NHS contracts, something changed on 6th April that you need to know about. Evergreen Level 1 is now a minimum requirement at the point of tender submission. Not something to work towards. A baseline you need to already have. We're already seeing suppliers caught out at submission stage thinking they were close enough. Often they're not far off, but the gaps still matter. Full breakdown on our website, worth a read before your next tender: https://lnkd.in/eq_KW-pi #nhs #procurement #sustainability #carbonreductionplan

"You need to be on an NHS framework to win NHS contracts." Not true. Frameworks like NHS SBS, LPP and CCS are brilliant routes to market but they are not the only route. Plenty of NHS contracts are procured outside of frameworks, through open tenders on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender. Any registered business can bid for these directly without being on any framework at all. Frameworks do make things easier once you're on them. Buyers trust you more, the process is quicker and you face less competition. But getting onto a framework in the first place takes time, preparation and a solid track record. If you're an SME just starting out with public sector work, open tenders are actually a better place to begin. Win a few contracts, build your evidence base, then go after the frameworks. Don't let not being on a framework stop you from bidding. The opportunity is bigger than most people think. #NHSTenders #PublicSector #Tendering #NHS #SMEUK #BidWriting #ContractsFinder #NHSFrameworks

NHS procurement has always had layers. CQC Regulations 12, 15 and 17. NICE guidance. NHS estates standards. The Procurement Act 2023. Each one shapes how projects are assessed, approved and — when things go wrong — scrutinised. For estates and procurement teams, that means product selection carries more weight than it used to. Price and a compliance certificate are no longer the only criteria. What gets asked: by IPC teams, by CQC inspectors, by finance is whether the decision was justified, documented and built to last. Contour's latest blog covers: ✅ What CQC Regulations 12, 15 and 17 mean in practice for estates teams ✅ How NICE and NHS estates guidance feed into specification decisions ✅ Why the Procurement Act shifts the lens toward quality, transparency and supplier accountability ✅ What to think through before a project reaches tender stage Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/daDTmHwf #DIMH26 #SafeHeatingSpecialists #NHSEstates #AntiLigature

NHS reforms heighten the need for strategic contract management to deliver value and outcomes NHS contract management is set to become more important as England’s payment reforms move funding ever closer to the way care is actually delivered, rather than simply the amount delivered. Emma James, chief commercial officer at Digital Modus, argues that this shift should force a rethink across the service. In practice, she writes, the real work begins when a contract is signed, not when the tender closes....

Why the NHS needs small, independent CAFM advisors more than ever The numbers tell the story. NHS backlog maintenance has now climbed to £13.8bn (latest ERIC data), and 2025 has seen a wave of Trusts going to market for new Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) and IWMS platforms — Oxford Health, Hull University Teaching Hospitals, Northern Lincolnshire & Goole, NHS Property Services, and the SBS Hard FM 3 framework, to name a few. Every one of those procurements carries the same risk: choosing the wrong system, over-configuring the right one, or buying brilliant software that never gets properly adopted on the ground. That's where the market is quietly shifting. Trusts are starting to recognise that the big-brand systems integrator isn't always the right partner for a CAFM decision. What estates and FM teams actually need at the front end is: 🔹 Independence — independent advice that isn't influenced by the vendor sales team 🔹 Operational credibility — consultants who've sat in the estates office, not just the boardroom 🔹 Right-sized engagement — days and weeks of focused expertise, not multi-year retainers 🔹 Knowledge transfer — leaving the Trust stronger, not more dependent Small, specialist consultancies are uniquely placed to deliver this. Lower overheads mean better value for public money. Direct partner-level involvement means no junior consultants learning on the Trust's time. And genuine independence means we can give clear recommendations — whether that's Concept Evolution, Evolution Go, or any associated modules, because we specialise in MRI Evolution products. At Quality Evolution Services, this is exactly the gap we exist to fill — helping NHS estates and FM leaders navigate CAFM selection, implementation, data migration, and post-go-live optimisation with clarity and zero vendor bias. If your Trust is scoping a CAFM refresh, rescuing a stalled implementation, or simply trying to get more value from the system you already own — let's talk. 👉 www.evoservices.co.uk #NHS #FacilitiesManagement #CAFM #IWMS #EstatesManagement #HealthcareEstates #IndependentConsultancy

First ruling under the Procurement Act 2023 Parkingeye Ltd v (1) Velindre University NHS Trust; and (2) Cardiff and Vale University Health Board [2026] EWHC 1019 (TCC) Today, in the first ruling of an application to lift the automatic suspension under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), the High Court dismissed the contracting authorities' application to lift the automatic suspension, preventing the contracting authorities from proceeding with contract award until the litigation has concluded. Commenting on the test for lifting the automatic suspension under s.102 of the PA23, HHJ Keyser KC held that the test under s.102 of the PA23 was “substantively and not merely formally very different, in both its method and its effect, from the former test as found in regulation 96(2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015″ and that “the public interest will generally tend in favour of keeping the suspension in place, although on the facts of particular cases it may weigh differently”. Whether this ruling marks a shift towards more automatic suspensions being maintained under the PA23 will be of interest to both contracting authorities and bidders. Alison Walton Katharine Ronn #ProcurementAct2023 #publicprocurement #procurementlitigation

An interesting outcome for the first ruling under the Procurement Act 2023. The test to be applied to lift the auto suspension is indeed materially different to that under the PCR 2015

Most healthcare suppliers winning NHS contracts have an evidence problem they don’t see coming. They write social value commitments at bid stage. They deliver something: sessions, hours, activity. And then six months in, the contract review arrives and the evidence doesn’t hold up. Not because they didn’t try. Because they never built the measurement in from the start. Evidence is not something you produce at review stage. It is something you design before delivery begins. With the right community partnerships. With the right frameworks. With outcomes that evaluators can actually verify. If your next NHS contract includes social value commitments and you haven’t had a single conversation yet about how you’ll evidence them, that conversation needs to happen now. Not the week before your review. #SocialValue #ProcurementAct2023 #NHSContracts

Do you know what the Local Variation Arrangement actually is - and what it can and cannot do? 🔎 Section 4.10 of the 2026/27 Network Contract DES Specification introduces the Local Variation Arrangement last month. Here's what practices and PCNs need to understand: 🔹 It is not a local deal between an ICB and a PCN. The ICB submits a request to NHS England, NHS England approves it, and only then does it become a Local Variation Notice. It is a national approval process with a local trigger - and it can apply to specific named PCNs, not all PCNs in an ICB area. 🔹 It only runs for the current financial year. There is no automatic rollover. If the circumstances justifying the variation persist, a fresh request is needed the following year. 🔹 It can only vary three things: · Section 7 - the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme · Section 8 - service requirements · Sections 10.1 to 10.5 - core financial entitlements 🔹 It cannot vary the underlying GMS, PMS or APMS contract. The DES sits on top of the primary medical services contract - section 4.10 does not touch it. 🔹 The most likely use case is aligning the DES with emerging Neighbourhood Health contract types, such as Single Neighbourhood Providers, to prevent duplication or gaps in provision. 🔹 This is a new route and NHS England's approach to approvals will become clearer in time - but understanding the boundaries now puts practices and PCNs in a stronger position. 💬 Want to discuss this in more detail? Get in touch with us at info@dkjsupportservices.co.uk 🗓 Join our free monthly PCN Manager's Chat - a space to ask questions, share experiences, and stay on top of the latest developments https://lnkd.in/eEPSryS6 📚 Or explore our wealth of resources on all things PCN on the DKJ Health Hub https://lnkd.in/eHJEfDPk #PCN #NetworkContractDES #GeneralPractice #PrimaryCare #NeighbourhoodHealth #GPPracticeManagement #PracticeManagers #HealthcareCompliance #ARRS