3 WAYS TO WIN ON THE MOJ NEW PRISONS FRAMEWORK

 A £4bn budget, 20,000 new prison places, just three years to deliver the infrastructure… And it’s all open to SMEs.

…The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) New Prisons Programme sure is an exciting construction programme. So we’ve asked central government for 3 top tips to get involved.

ISG, Kier, Laing O’Rourke and Wates, have formed an alliance with the MoJ to collaborate on the delivery of multiple extensions and refurbishment projects, as well as build new prisons using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and digital techniques.

…But the opportunity isn’t just for the big guns.

Representatives from the MoJ and the Cabinet Office reiterated their commitment to involving SMEs, and shared three suggestions on how to get involved in the prisons programme:

1.     Form alliances – David Hancock, Construction Director for the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), said that as well as contacting alliance partners for work, SMEs could consider replicating their delivery model:

“If SMEs can alliance together to offer a much bigger package – that gives them a lot better leverage,” he said.

2.     Industrialise –The construction alliance is working with the MoJ to create ‘pilots’ and ‘blueprints’ on how best to use MMC to rapidly deliver buildings which maximise efficiency, value for money, productivity, sustainability, and rehabilitation.

What’s the Story? believes that the MoJ and its alliance partners will increasingly expect the supply chain to follow in their footsteps, and deliver services which are standardised, leading to higher reliability on cost and performance. This will require suppliers to understand MoJ’s model and how they can add value.

We also believe that it might be smart to adopt the same principle when bidding for work within the MoJ’s upcoming Prisons Transformation Programme (PTP) for facilities management across the prisons and probation estate. 

3.     Be Seen, AND Heard – The MoJ and Cabinet Office talked openly with delegates visiting UK Construction Week – and invited SMEs to attend their supplier days and procurement seminars. Don’t be a stranger!

Dr Hancock concluded that there is a “massive appetite” from the government to bring SMEs in to support the New Prisons Programme – particularly with the upcoming full implementation of the Procurement Act.

“We want SMEs to come in and know exactly what the product they’re selling us is,” he said. “Government really wants to support SMEs.”