The publication of the OJEU will now not happen until later this year
The government’s troubled flagship £2.9bn consultancy framework has been delayed yet again, Building understands.
The publication of the OJEU and invitation to tender for the Project Management and Full Design Team Services framework had been scheduled to go out by the end of April with the framework set to go live in August. But the PIN is being revised and the OJEU will not be published until later this year, Building has learned
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “It is vital government has the correct agreements in place to support delivery of our construction projects.
“The Project Management and Design Team Services is one such agreement. We are working closely with industry and government to develop this and ensure successful delivery of these important projects.”
The framework was taken over by the public sector’s buying arm the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) in November 2014 after its procurement partner UK SBS cancelled the previous procurement process amid a storm of criticism that saw then-failed bidder Turner & Townsend challenge the framework in the High Court. Since then it has been delayed several times.
In an email sent to potential bidders in January the CCS project management team admitted they had found re-establishing the framework “challenging given the ambitious timescales we initially set ourselves”.
The team therefore decided to revise the planned timescales, adding “additional technical resource” will be brought in to ensure the framework can be delivered as quickly as possible.
A previous delay in October was attributed to “several complex projects” also being procured, “including HS2, CrossRail2 (sic) and the Palace of Westminster refurbishment”.
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