#TeamTalks: Jackie Williams on how we can support your organisation's estates needs
Welcome to the October edition of the NOE CPC customer newsletter and the latest update in our #TeamTalk series, where we put a spotlight on the teams that make up NOE CPC.
This month we’re focusing on our FM, Property and Business Services team, who cover a range of services, from Hard Services including engineering and maintenance work, to Soft Services such as laundry and linen, waste management, and security to Business Services including consultancy, language, and legal services.
Jackie Williams, Senior Category Manager, talks about how we can support you to use Government funding, how her team is evolving and her priorities for the future.
“I have now been with NOE CPC for a decade, and in that time I have seen the FM, Property and Business Services category grow and evolve to cover an ever broader range of services to support you with your procurement needs.
“This year has been a particularly busy time for the category, with customers able to access several Government funding schemes to improve their estates.
“Trusts can tap into the £750m Estates Safety Fund, which is aimed at supporting essential infrastructure and safety improvements across the NHS estate. This could be projects such as fixes to leaking roofs, upgrades to faulty electrical wiring, or addressing fire safety requirements.
“We can support you in utilising this funding through our Specialist Estates Engineering & Maintenance Services (Hard FM) framework, which has 19 dedicated lots covering a range of services and suppliers, from national providers to SMEs.
“Great British Energy has provided £100m in funding for NHS trusts to install solar panels and battery storage systems – reducing energy bills and helping to make our health service more energy-efficient and resilient.
“Our Specialist Estates Engineering & Maintenance Services (Hard FM) framework has a dedicated lot for solar PV, while our Minor Works, Trades and Associated Services DPS covers solar energy systems and panel installation, meaning we are well-placed to support any trusts who have access to this funding.
“Other Low carbon infrastructure routes to market we can offer via these two solutions are renewable and low carbon heating systems, and installation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging solutions. We are passionate about supporting our customers to decarbonise their estates and are currently working on a new idea to further help our members with their ambitions.
“There has been an increased focus on sustainability and social value in our category in recent years across our portfolio of frameworks, which is evident in our Specialist Estates Engineering & Maintenance Services (Hard FM) framework, where social value was built in from the start. All suppliers provided social value commitments that customers can choose to include at call-off stage. Sustainability and social value is a thread that runs through all the other frameworks in the category, and so we will be investing even more time in this going forward, working closely with our Sustainability and Social Value Manager to support delivery of these commitments.
“We have recently welcomed two new Category Procurement Specialists into the team – Flora Allen, who joins us from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, and Louise Molloy, who has joined us from our Healthcare Services and Pharmacy category.
“By growing our team, not only can we provide more targeted support, it will enable us to develop our strategy and reach within the estates and facilities area. This will include identifying emerging areas such as the digitisation of services to provide new solutions across the Category.
“As a team, we are looking forward to attending the Healthcare Estates Conference in Manchester on 21st and 22nd October. We will be on stand D27, alongside colleagues from London Procurement Partnership. We hope to see you there!"