The Procurement Bill 2022 has now reached the first committee stage and is therefore undergoing a line by line examination today in the House of Lords.

Committee stage usually takes up to eight days, but can go on for longer, with any member of the Lords able to take part. During this stage every clause has to be agreed to and votes on all amendments to the Bill take place.

It's landed! The Procurement Bill 2022 is here, after its first reading took place in the House of Lords yesterday. This first stage is a formality, signalling the start of the Bill's journey through the Lords.

The second reading is scheduled for 25th May and will be a general debate on all aspects of the Bill.

We have an exciting new case study featuring a successful building materials contract with Livv Housing Group and Wolseley Managed Services under the Cirrus Consortium Materials Framework.

Cirrus Purchasing have worked with Livv as their outsourced procurement partner since 2011, providing strategic and day-to-day support for all of their procurement needs. In this role, Cirrus provided technical consultancy support for the reprocurement of the Livv building materials contract.

Of the 4 managed services specialist suppliers who submitted bids for the contract, Wolseley Managed Services were the successful bidder, with particular strengths in operational delivery and innovative solutions.

View the full case study here.

The Office for National Statistics has today reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 6.2% in February – a 30 year high. This latest increase is up from 5.5% in January and it isn’t likely to stop there. Last week the Bank of England predicted further rises next month to around 8%.

This is a particularly challenging time for everyone, but financial year end can also be a key time of year for clients with contracts that have annual price movement clauses. Clients are likely to see large increases to contract prices as inflation forces suppliers to pass on their increasing costs.

Organisations are encouraged to review contracts to understand the impact of the cost increases and check they are in line with price movement contractual terms. We would also advise to engage in conversation with suppliers, working in partnership to be able to plan for and mitigate further substantial increases, where possible.

The Cabinet Office has announced the updated financial thresholds under the various UK Procurement Regulations. The new thresholds will apply to contracts advertised from 1st January 2022.

This is the first update to the financial thresholds since the end of the Brexit transition period. Along with a move in the monetary values there has been another crucial change; the estimated procurement values will be calculated inclusive of VAT rather than the current method of calculating exclusive of VAT.

We are excited to announce that the Cirrus Consortium Kitchen Supply Framework 2 is now live and available for use by contracting authorities across England, Wales and Scotland.

The framework offers members quick, flexible and compliant access to 10 leading kitchen manufacturers and suppliers.

What's new?

We’ve listened to our members and have created an even more user-friendly framework that builds on the success of our last kitchens framework. This time, after supplier pre-engagement we’ve also incorporated installation services, the option of set framework rates, the ability to purchase modular kitchens and a choice of either an off the shelf social value package or a tailored solution. We hope these additions will be useful to our current and prospective consortium members.

Materials and services available:

• Readymade (pre-assembled) kitchen units
• Flat pack kitchen units
• Adapted kitchen items
• Modular kitchens
• Kitchen unit doors
• Worktops
• Kitchen components and accessories
• Kitchen wall and floor tiles and associated products
• Kitchen appliances
• Kitchen design service
• Kitchen supply and installation services

When selecting a framework provider contracting authorities may consider a number of factors including value for money, compliance, flexibility, supplier choice, social value, how well the framework meets client needs, and the support provided by the framework provider team.

Cirrus frameworks have always been designed with these factors in mind, and as a result have been market-leading in many of these areas since their inception in 2009. Our large-scale national frameworks have the lowest framework fees in the sector, 100% compliance, maximum flexibility by design, a wide range of top quality suppliers, bespoke social value delivery and a suite of ongoing contract support services tailored to suit the unique requirements of each consortium member, because we believe one size does not fit all.

Our contract support services, such as benchmarking, cost control and invoice validation, tender management, range analysis and contract management, are delivered by our tightly focused, highly efficient procurement consultancy team.

We are excited to announce that the Cirrus Consortium is currently tendering for our new kitchens supply framework which will replace the current arrangement due to expire in October 2021.

The Cirrus Consortium has been an effective and compliant route to market for contracting authorities nationwide over the last decade. The Consortium currently consists of Registered Providers of Social Housing, Local Authorities, ALMOs and NHS Trusts.

The new framework will be available for use by all Cirrus Consortium Members and contracting authorities across England, Wales and Scotland.

Say hello to our new Consortium Coordinator, Lucy Jackson!

Since joining the Cirrus team in 2018 as Operations Coordinator, Lucy has worked closely with our framework suppliers and leads on marketing for the Cirrus Consortium frameworks. Lucy’s role has now expanded to looking after the Cirrus Consortium, including member liaison.

Lucy will be calling all current Consortium members to introduce herself so expect a call soon.

She is a very friendly face to go to so if you have any framework related queries do get in touch! You can reach Lucy on 07983 532407 or ljackson@cirruspurchasing.co.uk

The Cabinet Office has released a new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) setting out strategic priorities for public procurement and how contracting authorities can support their delivery.

Cirrus are very happy to have remained a completely carbon negative company for the 11th consecutive year. Despite our carbon being next to nothing in the last year due the COVID-19 pandemic, we are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to the environment by offsetting the same amount of carbon that we would do in a usual business year.

This year we have supported The Mersey Forest Foundation and a hydro power project in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Mersey Forest helps support the work of the Mersey Forest Partnership who, over the last 25 years, have planted over 9 million trees across Merseyside and North Cheshire. Trees are planted on a range of sites including hospitals, schools, along roadsides, in city centres, and on public and private land.

We have a brand new case study featuring an exciting project we worked on with Craven District Council. Cirrus managed a two stage tender process to appoint a multi-disciplinary team to deliver a masterplan for the future development of the Skipton Station Triangle area.

The contract was successfully awarded through the height of the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, with all meetings and evaluations being conducted via Microsoft Teams and Zoom. View the case study in full here.

The end of the Brexit transition period at 23:00 on 31st December 2020 marked the end of an era for UK public procurement.

From this date forward, new public procurements subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 will no longer be advertised in OJEU/TED, but instead should be published through the new UK Find a Tender system (FTS).

Tenders already in progress that commenced through OJEU/TED notices prior to 31st December 2020 should continue on the European platform. For these tenders, statutory notices after this date should still be published through OJEU/TED. All new procurements are required to go through the new system.

Claire and the team would like to say Happy New Year to all of our clients, partners and stakeholders.

Despite unusual circumstances last year, we forged some great new relationships and further developed partnerships with our existing clients. We are excited to build upon these in the coming year.

We hope 2021 will bring you health, happiness and success; thank you for your continued support.

During our 10th anniversary of being a carbon negative company, Cirrus have decided to raise environmental awareness and discuss what we all can do to tackle the issues facing the planet.

As part of this, our suppliers have volunteered to share with us what they are doing to help the environment. This is the first of a new series of articles called Environmental Focus.

Thank you to Travis Perkins for providing this interesting piece about their environmental efforts: Read the full article here.

We have had an exciting reboot and decided to reshape our benchmark reports. The reports have a fresh look, format and content and we are very much looking forward to rolling them out to our clients!

There are communications circulating in the market at present that paint all framework providers with the same brush, particularly regarding transparency and fee structures. While it is true not all frameworks have the same levels of transparency, equally not all framework providers are the same.

Rexel are available to trade through Lot 3 (Electrical materials) of the Cirrus Consortium Materials Framework and have asked us to showcase their new Van Stock and Smartstores brochure.

Rexel’s Smart Stock Solutions are cloud-based inventory and asset management systems powered by market leading technology.

As we continue to celebrate our tenth year of remaining a completely carbon negative company, we have chosen an incredible local initiative to support. The Mersey Forest Foundation is a growing network of woodlands and green spaces across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Mersey Forest helps support the work of the Mersey Forest Partnership, who over the last 25 years, have planted over 9 million trees across Merseyside and North Cheshire. Trees are planted on a range of sites including hospitals, schools, along roadsides, in city centres, and on public and private land.

The trees provide a wide range of benefits to both the environment and to local people including:

• Better air quality
• Increased biodiversity
• Health and well-being benefits
• Flood risk mitigation
• Better, greener neighbourhoods

As you may know, we are celebrating our 10th consecutive year as a carbon negative company. As well as supporting our carbon offsetting programs, we actively promote initiatives to reduce carbon emissions within our business practices.

Take a look at our new case studies here featuring three of the successful partnerships that have been established through our frameworks and outsourced consultancy offering.

We will be adding more case studies to our website in the coming months so keep your eyes peeled!

Cirrus are proud to announce that we have remained a completely carbon negative company for the 10th consecutive year.

City Plumbing Supplies are available to trade through Lot 2 (Plumbing and heating materials) and Lot 3 (Electrical materials) of the Cirrus Consortium Materials Framework.

The Cirrus Consortium Materials Framework provides quick and flexible access to the full range of building materials required by consortium members in full compliance with the relevant public procurement legislation.

The current framework (CCMF5) runs from August 2019 to August 2023.

After another record year for Cirrus, we would like to say a big thank you to our clients, partners and stakeholders and of course to our staff for their continued hard work.

We are excited for what’s to come in the next financial year and hope to build on the successes of this year!

The Cabinet Office has issued a further Procurement Policy Note (PPN) connected with the COVID-19 outbreak. This PPN highlights the severe impact the virus is having on businesses that supply to public bodies and outlines ways contracting authorities can support their suppliers during these unprecedented times.

The Crown Commercial Service has today issued a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) in response to the COVID-19 outbreak to provide guidance to contracting authorities who will now need to procure goods, services and works quickly, as a result of the virus.

In the light of the recent government guidance issued on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) that people should refrain from any unnecessary social contact and work from home where possible, Cirrus has made the decision for our staff to work remotely, taking meetings with our clients and stakeholders online for the foreseeable future.

Our staff have been briefed and we are confident that this decision will not negatively affect our working practices or our clients in the coming weeks. All projects and business will proceed as usual. We will continue to deliver high quality support and advice to our clients using appropriate technology solutions to replace face to face meetings. We are not reducing our availability or support offerings, simply adapting our methods of delivery to help protect the health and wellbeing of our staff, clients, stakeholders and the wider community.

Our preferred communication channels are currently telephone, conference/Skype calls, InTend tender platform and email, in addition to any specific methods used by our individual clients. We may also, going forward, implement additional communication channels to facilitate specific project activity as needed.

The United Kingdom has now left the EU and has entered into an 11-month transition period whilst final agreements on what the future relationship between both parties will look like is thrashed out. During this phase of negotiation, the UK will remain in the EU's customs union and single market and will continue to follow EU law.

As such, there will be no change to public procurement legislation in the short term and public sector entities should continue to go about business as usual. The EU procurement directive still continues to apply and is enshrined in UK law under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Happy New Year to all of our clients, partners and stakeholders!

We hope 2019 served you well and we wish you all the best for 2020.

Sovini Trade Supplies is the latest supplier to be featured from the Cirrus Consortium Materials Framework.