SCAPE in Northern Ireland: Answering your questions

SCAPE is a public-sector owned procurement specialist with a suite of frameworks in construction, consultancy, civil engineering and utilities. We were established in 2006, under the local government Act 1983. Across the whole of the UK, we’re proud to serve over 1,000 public sector clients and to have completed over 12,000 projects in the 15 years our frameworks have been operating. We are owned and controlled by six local authorities and were established in 2005 under the Local Government Act 2003. As such, SCAPE is a public sector Contracting Authority and officially recognised Central Purchasing body. In compliance with Public Contracts Regulations, we have appointed market leading partners to deliver successful project outcomes across all frameworks. Our accelerated-delivery frameworks have pre-set performance requirements which are actively managed to keep your project investment local.

Anyone can access our frameworks and we do not charge any fee to our clients for doing so. Whilst a Framework Management Fee is due to us on every project, this is charged to the delivery partner and incorporated by them within their tendered fee percentages. Our actively managed frameworks offer great value with larger projects being subjected to lower fees. Our fees range from 0.05% - 3% across consultancy, civil engineering and construction. Any surplus we make goes back into the public sector via our six local authority shareholders. An advantage of using SCAPE frameworks is that we uniquely offer a free feasibility study with every project, demonstrating our commitment to you and your project.

We offer value for money construction solutions through a family of dedicated frameworks. We offer immediate access to industry leading companies across the entire asset cycle. As a result, value is secured immediately, avoiding the time and cost associated with participating in a project-specific tender or mini competition process, to both clients and partners. This means that developmental spend is maximised and resources can be released to focus on project delivery. Each construction framework project is 100% market tested. This harnesses the buying power of the cumulative framework value, with point-of-delivery market testing. Early contractor involvement on brief development, budget costing, project programming and buildability is provided at feasibility stage, at no cost.

SCAPE uses reputable delivery partners with a proven track record in delivering value for money and a first class service for clients and in Northern Ireland that’s no different. On our civil engineering framework we use FP McCann via infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty. Our minor frameworks are taken care of by Graham construction while privately-owned construction specialists McLaughlin & Harvey have the major frameworks. All of them are based here in Northern Ireland and are committed to keeping investment local while delivering maximum value for money.

There are no obstacles restricting Contracting Authorities in Northern Ireland utilising SCAPE for the delivery of Capital Projects funded by Central Government. Following a recent review of regulations in Northern Ireland, a prominent, legal firm in Northern Ireland found no regulations which would prohibit the engagement of SCAPE frameworks. Accordingly, Public Sector bodies are warranted in accessing SCAPE frameworks as similar to those in related Public Sector framework provision. As local Government representatives, we embody success. For us, Compliance, Taxpayer Value, Sustainable Delivery, Community Benefits, Social Value and Local Economic impact are as significant as time, cost, and quality.

If you would like to learn more about SCAPE frameworks or talk about your project needs then you can contact me at garrettd@scape.co.uk.