Kent County Council intends to use its position as a leading client for the procurement of construction work to help drive the agenda for improving the availability of skilled employees and providing work for local people.
An example of this is the term contracts for Kent Highway Services that went out to tender in July. There are three contracts:
Each will last for a minimum of 5 years and could be extended by another 5 years and between them there is some £60m of work a year. The contracts will start in June 2006 and the suppliers will work in an Alliance with Kent County Council to provide a unified service.
Each tender sets out the aspirations of KCC and includes a draft protocol. Through the quality submissions the tenderers will be required to state their proposals for addressing these aspirations. At the preferred bidder stage these proposals will be firmed up and the protocol, as finally agreed, will become part of the contract.
The availability of skilled construction workers and transportation professionals is a critical issue for all sectors of the industry, so it is expected that through the tender process the potential suppliers will be keen to demonstrate that they wish to play a full part in this initiative.
To see extracts from the tenders that show more how KCC is leading by example through the new Highways Contract, please see the following PDF file: