{"id":27938,"date":"2020-10-13T15:47:56","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T14:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=27938"},"modified":"2020-10-13T15:47:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T14:47:56","slug":"ihbcs-imho-built-environment-networking-highlights-importance-of-generating-social-value-in-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=27938","title":{"rendered":"IHBC\u2019s IMHO: Built Environment networking highlights importance of generating social value in construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"houseJenny Bowles, Manager at Scotland Excel, writes in an opinion piece to highlight the importance in generating social value in construction.<\/h3>\n

image: for illustration purposes only – Open Government Licence v3.0<\/em><\/h6>\n

<\/p>\n

…how they can use our frameworks to design, build and repair their social housing stock…<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

Built Environment Networking (BE) writes:<\/p>\n

As we all know, nothing is as it was just a few short months ago. All sectors of business have been affected by Covid-19 and nowhere is that more obvious than construction. Like desolate scenes from a Sci-fi film, the empty sites and static cranes were an all too familiar scene in newspapers and TV reports. Thankfully, all that changed just a short time ago when the Scottish Government, with advice from Construction Scotland, started to slowly and carefully open sites with strict guidance on hygiene and isolation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked in the construction team in\u00a0Scotland Excel<\/a>\u00a0for several years and I can\u2019t remember a time when we\u2019ve been so busy with enquiries from our members \u2013 both councils and housing associations, asking how they can use our frameworks to design, build and repair their social housing stock. It\u2019s an exciting time as we all work to aid the UK economy recover, and it\u2019s once again enforced my belief that collaborative public procurement is a force for good.<\/p>\n

Happily, this is not only my belief but also that of the Scottish Government. In its\u00a02019 Annual Procurement Report<\/a>\u00a0there was a clear call to public bodies to ensure that they are delivering tangible social value through their procurement.\u00a0 With an annual spend of more than \u00a34bn on building or civil engineering works, public procurement of construction is a key player.<\/p>\n

Scotland Excel is proud to be leaders in this area with a portfolio that exemplifies how additional social value can be delivered through the procurement of construction services.<\/p>\n

Fair Work Practices are a key component of our contracts with 83% of suppliers paying the Real Living Wage. Our\u00a0Domestic Furnitures and Furnishings<\/a>\u00a0framework has directed \u00a31m to third sector organisations delivering reuse goods and since 2018 our frameworks have delivered circa \u00a3500k of community benefits. This not only includes apprentices, full time employment and work placements but also backing to local communities through initiatives such as providing materials to support the\u00a0Men\u2019s Shed<\/a>, providing meals for kids during school summer holidays and delivering goods to build mud kitchens for local primary schools and nurseries.<\/p>\n

Scotland Excel\u2019s recently launched\u00a0New Build Residential Construction<\/a>\u00a0framework showcases best practice when it comes to delivering social value. The framework delivers benefits for local areas through sub-contracting, project bank accounts, employment and training opportunities, and has social value at its heart through community benefits, payment of the Real Living Wage and opportunities for supported businesses.<\/p>\n

Importantly, Scotland Excel has demonstrated that delivering social value within construction does not come to the detriment of commerciality.\u00a0 Since 2016 our construction portfolio has generated \u00a325m of savings for our members and our New Build Residential Construction framework has the potential to save our members a further \u00a35m per year.<\/p>\n

For more information on the\u00a0New Build Residential Construction<\/a>\u00a0framework and others, visit\u00a0Scotland Excel\u2019s website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jenny Bowles, Manager at Scotland Excel, writes in an opinion piece to highlight the importance in generating social value in construction. image: for illustration purposes only – Open Government Licence v3.0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27939,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27938\/revisions\/27939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}