Capital Works and Associated Services DPS

Strong refurbishment outcomes start with clear expectations. Your specifications should define exactly what you’ll accept: which materials, what level of workmanship, how performance will be measured. Before work begins, walk the site with contractors to confirm they understand what’s required. During the project, inspect progress regularly so problems get caught and fixed quickly rather than becoming expensive issues later. When work finishes, conduct thorough inspections before signing off, and make sure you have a process for dealing with defects that emerge. 

Photo records help enormously. They document what was delivered, support quality reviews, and provide evidence if disputes arise. The Capital Works DPS connects you with contractors who’ve already been vetted for quality capability, which means you’re starting from a stronger position than if you were qualifying suppliers from scratch. You can then focus on setting project-specific requirements that matter for your organisation: EESSH compliance, Scottish Housing Quality Standard, tenant safety obligations. 

You’ve got several compliant options. Frameworks give you pre-tendered contracts with set suppliers, pricing and terms, which works well when you’ve got repeat requirements and know what you need. Dynamic Purchasing Systems like this Capital Works DPS offer more flexibility because new suppliers can join throughout the lifetime, keeping competition fresh and giving you access to innovation. For contracts below threshold or specialist work needing bespoke approaches, direct procurement through Public Contracts Scotland remains available. Mini-competitions within frameworks or DPS let you tailor evaluation to specific projects while benefiting from qualification work that’s already done. 

This Capital Works DPS balances speed with robust selection. It’s fully compliant with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, lets you run competitions suited to individual projects, and helps you demonstrate the value for money and social value delivery that the Sustainable Procurement Duty requires. 

The Sustainable Procurement Duty, part of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, says public bodies must think about economic, social and environmental wellbeing when they buy things. This DPS makes that practical rather than burdensome. When you run a mini-competition, you can build in social value requirements that matter to your communities. You can assess suppliers against Fair Work First criteria. You can prioritise local economic benefit by engaging regional contractors. You can track whether community benefits actually get delivered through contract management. 

Suppliers on this DPS have already shown they can deliver social value, which saves you assessing this from scratch every time you procure. Our team can help you structure evaluation criteria around your priorities: local jobs, apprenticeships, community investment, environmental performance aligned with Scotland’s 2045 net zero target and EESSH. 

Frameworks lock in a supplier list at the start with pre-agreed terms. That’s fine when you know your requirements and your preferred contractors. A DPS works more flexibly. New suppliers can apply throughout its lifetime, so your options stay current and competitive as the market evolves. This matters in capital works where innovation, regional capacity and specialist skills are constantly developing.

Think about it: a four-year framework with a fixed supplier list from 2022 might miss innovative contractors who launched in 2023, regional firms who’ve built capacity since then, or specialists who’ve developed new capabilities. This Capital Works DPS stays open to new entrants while maintaining compliance and supplier vetting. You run mini-competitions among suitable suppliers on the relevant lot, getting genuine competition while accessing contractors who’ve been checked for financial stability, insurance, health and safety, and technical capability.

Because the DPS is already set up and suppliers are pre-qualified, you can typically run a mini-competition and award a contract within 2–4 weeks from sending out the tender to signing. This speed is possible because the heavy lifting has been done: establishing the DPS under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, advertising it properly, evaluating supplier applications, conducting financial and compliance checks.

You focus on the project-specific work: writing your specification, assessing submissions against your criteria, selecting the contractor who best fits your needs. PfH Scotland supports this with template documents, evaluation help, and project management to keep things moving smoothly. When you’ve got urgent works or seasonal programmes where timing matters, this compressed timeline can make a real difference to delivery schedules and resident outcomes.

Absolutely. This DPS is designed to work with what you’ve already got. If you’ve developed detailed specs for kitchen programmes, heating replacements or whole-house refurbs, use them. If you work with particular contract forms (SBCC, NEC, your own) or have preferred payment structures, bring them along. The DPS accommodates your existing approaches.

If you don’t have these ready, we can provide templates. PfH Scotland has specification documents and contract paperwork drawn from sector best practice. This flexibility means the DPS works for organisations with established procurement teams and refined processes, while also supporting smaller organisations who benefit from ready-made documentation and guidance. The point is making capital works procurement serve your needs, not forcing your projects into a rigid structure that doesn’t fit.

We don’t disappear once you’ve signed. Our wraparound service continues throughout delivery. We run additional due diligence checks on your chosen contractor, help with mobilisation and stakeholder communication, provide supplier management support when performance issues crop up, track whether social value commitments are actually being delivered, and step in with contract variation or dispute help if needed. 

This ongoing involvement means contracts deliver what you specified and suppliers stay accountable throughout the project. For Scottish housing organisations running multiple capital works projects at once, this support reduces the internal resource you need while keeping strong contract governance in place. Our team understands the Scottish regulatory landscape: what the Scottish Housing Regulator expects, how the Sustainable Procurement Duty works in practice, the real challenges of delivering capital works in occupied social housing. We’re here to help you succeed. 

Yes, several lots directly support  Scotland’s 2045 net zero target. The insulation lot covers cavity wall, loft and solid wall insulation. The heating lot includes renewable solutions, efficient boilers and complete central heating systems. The windows and doors lot addresses thermal performance improvements. The whole-house lot allows integrated fabric and heating upgrades tackled together. 

Suppliers on these lots have shown they can deliver energy efficiency work to required standards, including PAS 2035 for retrofit where it applies. When you run mini-competitions for net zero or decarbonisation projects, you can specify technical requirements, environmental performance criteria, and social value outcomes that align with your net zero strategy. PfH Scotland can help you structure these requirements and assess suppliers’ approaches, making sure your capital investment delivers measurable improvements in energy performance, fuel poverty reduction, and carbon emissions while meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard and preparing for future regulatory requirements.