Partnerships for Schools (PfS) has today unveiled four main areas of inquiry which will be explored as part of a new Procurement Review designed to reduce both timescales and costs in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

Speaking at PfS's second annual design conference, held at the British Museum, Chief Executive Tim Byles said that the new exercise would build upon the previous review which is already helping to reduce procurement timescales by up to two months and reducing costs across the programme by £250 million.

He added: "As I made clear at the time, the previous review resulted in significant time and cost savings, but we would keep our eyes resolutely fixed on streamlining processes further, cutting red tape and ensuring that every education pound is being well spent.

"Today I am pleased to share with the BSF community the four pillars which will form the foundations of our second procurement review, and which together will help us to make significant inroads towards the ultimate goal of a 52-week procurement.


"By exploring possible steps such as a centralised PQQ process, the use of exemplar sample designs, and looking again at where ICT procurement fits in the process could all hold the key to improved timeliness and cost effectiveness, ensuring pupils, teachers, parents and local communities benefit from new learning environments earlier than previously possible."

The four areas of inquiry are:

• A centralised Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) process: this would negate the need for bidders to go through the PQQ process each time they bid for a scheme which takes around 10 weeks off the 75-week procurement timeframe.
• Sampling design in a different way: it is a legal requirement to test both the bidder and the bid, and so sampling designs will remain a key feature of the BSF procurement process. Options to be explored include the use of exemplar samples or reducing the number of sample designs required to one PFI school, with a schedule of rates for the Design & Build scheme.
• ICT procurement: looking again at whether this can be done in a different way, including early funding for ICT in schools that are in later phases of BSF, and in what circumstances separate ICT will be permissible.
• Improved timetabling: ensuring that BSF and key local authority committee meetings are synchonrised to help speed up decision making.

PfS will also be working closely with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to explore the possibility of introducing a model in which local authorities appoint a design team from a pre-selected framework to develop exemplar designs for the sample scheme in their BSF bid process.

(CD/GK)