PfH Scotland has appointed 17 suppliers to deliver the framework which consists of ten lots, allowing housing providers to buy tens of thousands of aids and adaptations, building, heating, electrical and renewable products for repairs and maintenance and new build developments.

For a large proportion of Scottish social landlords, buying materials for new build or repairs and maintenance projects accounts for over half their total spend.

The new framework has been designed to ensure strong local and national coverage. Appointed merchants have branches right across the country, ensuring that housing providers from all over Scotland can access materials easily.

The new deal will also guarantee stock supply, meaning that Scottish landlords are not exposed to the regional shortages and price increases that many have recently experienced. Member housing organisations will be prioritised by merchants and stock sourced from across the UK to meet deadlines and demand.

The new materials framework enables Scottish housing associations, co-operatives and local authority housing departments to have more control over the price of materials, something that is notoriously difficult due to both fluctuating markets and the wide range of products that landlords buy from different merchants.

Prices on the new housing materials deal are set either quarterly or annually and if suppliers increase prices then PfH Scotland will help landlords to obtain justification and manage the impact. All prices are checked monthly to ensure they are in line with the tendered price list.

A number of the merchants who supplied products on PfH Scotland’s previous materials contract have bid for this tender at a highly competitive rate as a result of the value generated from the previous deal, leading to significantly reduced prices across all ten lots.

PfH Scotland is also working directly with manufacturers to ensure they support supply chain prices and they keep landlords up to date on market innovations that could create further savings. The framework isn’t limited to the use of certain manufacturers, meaning that landlords can continue using manufacturers they have existing relationships with.

Steve Malone, managing director of PfH Scotland, said: “We listened carefully to our members when designing this materials framework. As a result it provides strong geographic coverage, a wide choice of products and lots of competition. We’ve also focused on helping housing providers deliver significant value for money for tenants by boosting the quality of the supply chain, securing better prices and through rigorous price control.”

Olivia Crookes, procurement manager at PfH Scotland, said: “The average cost to a social housing organisation of running an EU compliant materials tender is around £50,000 and the process can often take 6-9 months. Materials spend is so important for social landlords and we’re hoping to help them increase value for money in this area so they can improve the service they give to tenants.

“We’ll do this not just by providing a framework that is fully compliant with EU procurement directives and ready for landlords to trade on but also through regular benchmarking, tracking trends in materials spend, identifying inefficiencies and also opportunities to realise further savings.”

Supply of plumbing and heating products for planned, new build, investment & repairs and maintenance works, including, but not limited to, full heating systems (boilers, radiators, water treatments, heating controls, cylinders, ), electric fires, associated heating spares, bathroom products, plumbing ancillaries, consumables and associated accessories.

Suppliers:

Supply of gas heating spares for domestic boilers and fires predominately for the maintenance and replacement of fitted heating systems.

Suppliers:

Supply of renewable products for planned, new build, investment and repairs and maintenance works. This constitutes of environmental-friendly, efficient and sustainable products such as Solar Panel Systems (Solar Thermal, Solar Voltaic, and Solar Cylinders), Heat Pumps (Ground Source and Air Source), Biomass Boilers, Underfloor Heating Solutions.

Suppliers:

Supply of general building materials for planned, new build, investment and repairs and maintenance works. Commodity areas covered include, but are not limited to; ironmongery, aggregates, paint, timber, fencing, adhesives, plaster, hardboard, tiles, garages, roofing, insulation, bricks, blocks, drainage, cement, and hardware.

Suppliers:

Supply of tiles and associate products for planned, new build, investment and repairs and maintenance works, predominantly for use in internal installation in kitchens and bathrooms distributed nationally.

Suppliers:

Supply of electrical materials for planned, new build, investment and repairs and maintenance works, including, but not limited to, circuit protection, electrical accessories, lighting, electric showers, fire & heat detection, cable, wiring, electric storage heaters and ventilation products.

Suppliers:

Supply of adapted items for planned, new build, investment and repairs and maintenance works, predominately for bathroom and kitchen adaptations, including, but not limited to, wet rooms, shower trays, adapted showers, brassware, mobility support and general disabled adaptations. Awarded suppliers provide a free of charge survey and design service to understand bespoke requirements.

Suppliers:

The design, supply and installation of stair lifts to ensure each product is tailor-made to the requirements of each individual property. Awarded suppliers also provide an after sales service and repairs facility within their warranty and can provide yearly maintenance services at competitive costs.

Suppliers:

The supply of tool and plant products for hire only. Products available to hire at daily and weekly rates include, but not are limited to, access, support and lifting products, fencing, sawing and cutting tools, generators and pumps, breaking and drilling equipment, cleaning products, electrical distribution, concreting equipment, plant machinery, heating and cooling products, lighting, surveying tools.

Suppliers:

The provision of bespoke supply and service requirements for both planned and reactive maintenance, including (but not limited to) the provision of plumbing, building, electrical products, stores solutions, van stock and delivery solutions.

Suppliers: