Guidance

Crown Commercial Service update: January 2018

Published 9 January 2018

This guidance was withdrawn on

This page has been withdrawn as it is out of date.

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crown-commercial-service-update-january-2018/crown-commercial-service-update-january-2018

1. Procurement policy note on EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

As the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 will come into force on 25 May, we have published a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) to inform you of your responsibilities. The PPN contains guidance on how to bring your existing and new contracts into line with the requirements. It includes a set of standard generic terms and conditions covering GDPR that you can add into your contracts. Read the advice

2. Procurement policy note on new threshold levels for 2018

Every 2 years the European Commission makes minor adjustments to the thresholds above which the procurement rules apply, in order to account for exchange rate fluctuations. The procurement policy note sets out the latest thresholds, which apply from 1 January 2018. View the new thresholds

3. Aggregation opportunities

3.1 National Fuels

The National Fuels framework offers customers access to a variety of solid and liquid fuels via 5 lots:

  • Lot 1: Liquid Fuel
  • Lot 2: Liquified Gas
  • Lot 3: Solid Fuel
  • Lot 4: Greases, Lubricants and Antifreezes
  • Lot 5: Associated products and services

We will be running quarterly aggregated further competitions under the framework in 2018 and recommend you consider joining the next aggregation if you have new requirements, or would like to add new sites to your existing arrangements for the start of the next financial year.

By joining a CCS led aggregation you will benefit from:

  • easy route to market with options for both regional and national suppliers
  • aggregated further competitions carried out to deliver best prices

If you are interested in taking part in the first quarterly aggregation please fill in this online form, quoting ‘RM3801 - National Fuels’.

The deadline for site addition templates and additional terms is 1 March.

Customers taking part will be in a position to call-off from the framework from 2 April.

3.2 Fleet eAuction: last chance to get involved

We run 3 vehicle eAuctions each year for customers across the public and third sector. By combining their requirements we have been able to help them save as much as 40% on the manufacturer’s retail price.

Our eAuctions are run under lots 1 and 2 of the Vehicle Purchase (RM1070) framework, and any volume or vehicle type can be considered. We can also help you if you want to lease rather than buy the vehicles.

If you would like to take part in the next eAuction, which will take place in March, we will need your commitment by 17 January 2018. Orders will need to be placed within 3 months of the eAuction and delivery lead time is typically 12 weeks.

If you are interested in finding out more please get in touch - simply tick the aggregation box and quote Fleet eAuctions.

4. Network services customer engagement event

The Network Services team is beginning consultation on the replacement of the current Network Services framework and a series of customer workshops are being arranged throughout February and March, in locations such as Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Norwich and London.

If you are interested in helping shape the future Network Services agreement, please register your interest via the online form, quoting ‘Network services - customer engagement’.

Further details of events and locations will be provided shortly.

5. Technology webinars

We all know that the technology landscape is fast-paced and constantly evolving. Whether you are an experienced tech buyer or new to this area, our upcoming webinars are a great way to hear from our commercial specialists and ensure that you are getting the best solution for your organisation.

  • Network Services on 1 February at 2pm

Networks remain fundamental for the successful delivery of public services. Join us for this overview of the Network Services framework, covering how to buy a variety of services, from mobile connections to wide area network connections.

Register for 1 February

  • G-Cloud on 14 February at 10.30am

Find out how to search for and buy cloud computing services like infrastructure, platform, software and specialist cloud services.

Register for 14 February

  • Technology Products on 25 January at 2.30pm and 28 February at 11am

Join us to find out more about the different ways you can use our agreement for all your IT hardware and commodity software needs, including access to our extensive online catalogue, the Purchasing Platform.

Register for 25 January

Register for 28 February

6. Latest case studies

6.1 Office for National Statistics successfully migrated data centre

Office for National Statistics has moved its data centre to our Crown Hosting framework, benefiting from competitive pricing and strategic alignment with its needs.

Simon Sandford-Taylor, Chief Technology Officer at Office for National Statistics, said:

“The move to Crown Hosting itself has not presented any challenges. In fact, it has been so smooth that we’re continuing to work with Crown Hosting to allocate further racks from our existing data centre estate.”

Read the full case study to find out more.

Take a look at all our case studies to see how we have been helping our customers.

7. New contract notices

The following OJEU contract notice has recently been published:

You can view details of all ongoing or planned procurements on our procurement pipeline.

8. Frameworks expiring shortly

9. Recently expired frameworks

10. Framework extensions

11.1 Mystery Shopper results

You can view the latest Mystery Shopper results to see how the scheme is helping to improve procurement practices across the public sector and support our ambition to make doing business with government as easy as possible for small businesses.

11.2 Procurement policy

If you are looking for public procurement policy guidance please take a look at our public procurement policy page

Looking for a particular procurement policy note? View the collection of all procurement policy notes.

11.3 Procurement tools

eSourcing log on

Not yet registered? Find out how to register in our eSourcing guide.

Purchasing Platform

Not yet registered? Register and learn more about the current catalogues

12. Sign up for email alerts

You can sign up for immediate, daily or weekly email alerts which will tell you what we have added or updated on the GOV.UK website. It is a great way to stay up to date with the latest news and information from CCS.

Sign up for email alerts by providing your email address and selecting the frequency you wish to receive updates.

If you need further information about anything in this update please do not hesitate to contact us by email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk or call our customer service team on 0345 410 2222

You can also follow us on Twitter and connect with us on LinkedIn.

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