The procurement pipeline includes over 340 procurement contracts across 269 projects, programmes and other investments. It also sets out a projection of infrastructure procurement over the next year of up to £37 billion.

The procurement pipeline is made up of work packages, projects and programmes that are planned to go out to market for procurement throughout the 2020/21 financial year.  rojects where contracts have already been awarded or where funding has already been drawn down will not be included in the procurement pipeline. Projects in the early stages of development are also not included in the procurement pipeline for 2020/21.

The Pipeline aims to provide confidence and certainty to the market during the COVID-19 pandemic – and as such is a key part of the CLC’s ‘Road to Recovery’ .

Andy Mitchell, Co-Chair of the CLC said:

“The Construction Sector is facing an unprecedented challenge as a result of COVID-19. As the largest single client of economic and social infrastructure, a strong and clear pipeline of work from Government is vital to generating confidence and certainty.

I am therefore delighted that the Government has today responded to one of the proposals in the CLC Industry Recovery Plan and look forward to working with Government to deliver these projects over the months and years to come”.

Projects Relevent to the Finishes and Interiors Sector

Within the IPA there are a little over £1.4 billion investment in schools, £2.2 bn new Housing & Regeneration Projects, £1.2 bn investment in prisons and over £100m on cultural and heritage works.  The department of Works and Pensions is responsible for £115m of fit-out work across the UK.  The full list of projects is available here.

Iain McIlwee, CEO of the FIS responded. “Pipeline and confidence are key to a swift recovery in construction.  For me though the benefit of publishing this is limited if it is not matched with a procurement drive that supports early supply chain engagement.  We have to remember that the bulk of jobs are in the specialist fields and we need to extend this foresight into the supply chain to support real investment in skills and process improvement.  Earlier engagement has the added benefit of ensuring specialist knowledge is available to iron out any design wrinkles and practical issues are addressed in planning rather than on site.  Whilst more complex, it we need to try to find a similar process to monitor larger private investments and housing to ensure construction is optimised and ready to meet demand”. 

You can view the National Infrastructure and Construction Procurement Pipeline 2020/21 here

For private sector pipeline, you can track projects, FIS works with Barbour ABI who publish a monthly report of key regional contract awards, members can download this report here.

With 2.3 new claims to Universal Credit and many more people feeling uncertain about their futures, with this in mind, the DWP has launched two practical online support platforms through its new ‘Good Place to Start’ campaign.

jobhelp offers essential advice to those looking for work, on which sectors are recruiting now, how to make the best of transferable skills and how to secure a new role. employerhelp offers business advice on recruiting including the matching service Find a Job.

They have also produced a jobhelp stakeholder toolkit and an employerhelp stakeholder toolkit.

If you’re searching for employment, take a look at the FIS JobSpot www.thefis.org/jobspot/

From next Monday (15 June) face coverings will be mandatory on public transport in England to help reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus when social distancing is not always possible. A face covering is a simple cloth that covers your nose and mouth, and the Government has published guidance on How to wear and make a cloth face covering. Anyone using public transport who does not wear a face covering could receive a fine.

Wherever possible, people should continue to work from home and avoid public transport, and the Government has published Safer travel guidance for passengers. Transport for London (TfL) is encouraging passengers who must travel to consider walking or cycling as part of their journey, or getting off a stop or two early to reduce numbers on Tubes and buses.

Next Monday will also see Thames Clippers resuming services for passengers on a temporary timetable. Services will run between 6:00am and 9:00pm on weekdays and between 9:30am and 7:30pm on weekends, with park and ride available from the O2 for £8 per day for Thames Clippers customers. All passengers will be required to maintain social distancing, wear a face covering and pay by contactless, and the on‐board café will reopen for takeaway service only.

Travel and Accommodation

To help contractors working away from home find local accommodation: Build UK has temporarily repurposed its Open Doors website. There are now 340 providers listed offering 22,000 beds.

An Essential Workers letter has been prepared to support the booking process.  This can be downloaded here.

A substantial number of face masks, claiming to be of KN95 standards, provide an inadequate level of protection and are likely to be poor quality products accompanied by fake or fraudulent paperwork. These face masks may also be known as filtering facepiece respirators.

KN95 is a performance rating under the Chinese standard GB2626:2006, the requirements of which are broadly the same as the European standard BSEN149:2001+A1:2009 for FFP2 facemasks. However, there is no independent certification or assurance of their quality and products manufactured to KN95 rating are declared as compliant by the manufacturer.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) cannot be sold or supplied as PPE unless it is CE marked. The only exception is for PPE that is organised by the UK Government for use by NHS or other healthcare workers where assessments have been undertaken by HSE as the Market Surveillance Authority.

Action required

KN95 must not be used as PPE at work as their effectiveness cannot be assured.

Masks that are not CE marked and cannot be shown to be compliant must be removed from supply immediately. If these masks have not been through the necessary safety assessments, their effectiveness in controlling risks to health cannot be assured for anyone buying or using them. They are unlikely to provide the protection expected or required.

If any are CE marked, suppliers must be able to demonstrate how they know the documentation and CE marking is genuine, supported by Notified Body documentation showing compliance with the essential health and safety requirements as required by the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (EU) 2016/425.

Relevant legal documents

• Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (EU) 2016/425
• Personal Protective Equipment (Enforcement) Regulations 2018

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)/Respiritory Protective Equipment (RPE)

FIS COVID-19 Guide to the Selection of Personal and Respiratory Protective Equipment
With PPE / RPE in short supply and a variety of often conflicting information and advice, FIS has produced this guide to help companies to select the right PPE and manage common construction hazardous substances e.g. dust in an environment with the added complexities of protection against COVID-19.