£1.2bn Scape framework opens route for regional construction works

Public sector procurement organisation Scape has launched procurement for a new £1.2bn Regional Construction Works and Services framework, designed to support construction projects across the Midlands, East of England, Home Counties and London.

The framework will run for four years, from August 2027 to August 2031, and will support individual public sector commissions worth up to £15m. It is divided into four regional lots, each valued at around £300m, with up to three suppliers appointed per lot. This creates space for as many as 12 delivery partners across the full framework.

The procurement is aimed at councils, universities, housing associations, emergency services and other public sector bodies that need a compliant route to market for new-build, refurbishment, retrofit, maintenance, engineering, project management, facilities management and energy-related works.

One of the most important features is the framework’s regional structure. The lots cover Midlands East, Midlands West, Home Counties East and Home Counties West, with London included in both Home Counties regions. This arrangement is intended to improve client choice and strengthen delivery capacity across different local markets.

Scape has also designed the framework to support SME involvement, both through supply chains and direct participation. Bidders must demonstrate at least £20m annual turnover, either individually or through joint ventures or consortia. This keeps the framework accessible to larger regional contractors while still encouraging smaller firms to participate through structured partnerships.

For public clients, the benefit is not only procurement compliance. A framework of this type can reduce repeated tendering, shorten pre-construction periods and allow early contractor involvement. That is particularly useful for projects where buildability, phasing, access, utilities or ground risk need to be considered before design decisions are locked in.

The framework will use a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. Bidders first complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire, after which the five highest-scoring bidders in each lot move to the invitation to tender stage. Final awards will be based on the most advantageous tenders, with 70 percent of scoring based on quality and 30 percent on cost.

Clients will be able to award work through different routes, including accelerated delivery for below-threshold call-offs, an objective award mechanism for above-threshold work, and competitive selection where appropriate.

The current Scape regional framework has already supported more than 300 completed projects, showing why such procurement models matter for medium-sized public works. These are not headline megaprojects, but they form much of the everyday infrastructure pipeline: schools, civic buildings, housing, highways, bridges, flood works, retrofit and maintenance.

The new framework reflects a wider shift in public construction. Delivery is increasingly judged not only by lowest price, but by governance, local value, supply chain resilience, sustainability and the ability to move from planning to site without unnecessary delay.