LHC Procurement Group launches new £2.34 billion public buildings framework
A total of 155 contractors have been appointed to the latest Public Buildings Construction and Infrastructure (PB4) framework from LHC Procurement Group (LHCPG).
PB4 is the successor to the PB3 framework for public building projects across England, Scotland and Wales. It brings together construction services for new build, refurbishment, civil infrastructure and facilities management by providing access to pre-qualified suppliers with recognised quality, environmental and health and safety standards.
Of the approved suppliers, the majority (75%), are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The framework also uses national contractors and regional businesses to strengthen delivery capabilities for clients and support local economies.
For the first time, it includes a dedicated facilities management workstream, giving public sector organisations access to suppliers for the ongoing sustainment of their buildings.
“Public sector clients are managing a difficult combination of ageing assets, maintenance pressures and stringent safety and regulatory requirements,” said Graham Collie, LHCPG’s director of product innovation.
“It is increasingly important to think beyond the point at which a building is completed or refurbished. Public bodies need reliable access to competent contractors that can help keep assets safe, compliant and performing effectively over time. PB4 has been designed with this in mind.”
LHCPG is one of only a handful of UK framework providers to have frameworks verified through Constructing Excellence’s Constructing the Gold Standard scheme, and the only one to implement the standard nationwide.
As a not-for-profit organisation, LHCPG embeds social value into every framework and invests a portion of its surpluses via its Community Benefit Fund, and partner charities Lintel Trust and Lifting Lives, into local communities and initiatives.
Michael McLaughlin, LHCPG’s head of social value, said: “Clients and suppliers must demonstrate the wider benefits beyond specific works, and this is something our regional teams are best placed to support with.
“Through frameworks like PB4, we can help deliver what places and people actually need.”
The framework will run for four years, until 2 November 2030.