Chamber and committees

In September 2008, I announced support of £19 million of new money available to NHS health boards over the period 2008-11 to improve the nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged areas. The broad criteria within which NHS boards have been asked to work include increasing uptake of the healthy start scheme, to ensure that everyone who is eligible to claim vouchers to exchange for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula does so; supporting work on increasing breastfeeding rates and investing in training for health professionals. Years one and two of that funding have already been allocated to NHS boards. Details of the allocation were outlined in CEL 36 (2008) Nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged areas, which can be found at:

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2008_36.pdf.

The board included specific community benefit considerations in the procurement process for the new hospitals, requiring bidders to provide a method statement outlining how they would meet the following objectives:

Target 10% of total labour required to deliver the project (including those works delivered by specialists, or sub-contractors) to be delivered by new entrants, training and up-skilling of existing employees, assess and develop the capacity of Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs)/ Social Enterprises

In addition, bidders were required to demonstrate how they would meet the bid requirements to:

Provide regular monitoring information (at least quarterly),

Develop Case Studies (at least quarterly),

Participate in Stakeholder Evaluation.

The above objectives were bid requirements, to be met by all bidders.

As part of the competitive dialogue process bidders were encouraged to liaise with key stakeholders in South West Glasgow and Glasgow City in developing their submissions and overall approach to the objectives outlined above. Therefore, bidders were able to outline an approach that best met their delivery model and demonstrates to the board how they would successfully meet the bid requirements.

The following quote from Brookfield is relevant:

Brookfield fully support the board''s Employability and Health Strategy which seeks to provide community benefit from procurement. As part of the proposals Brookfield and its supply chain, have committed to employing 10% of the workforce as new entrants. Brookfield have engaged a team, led by Rosh Campbell of Glasgow South West Regeneration Agency, to ensure that the company fulfils its promises in relation to Training and Recruitment, SME''s and Social Enterprises. Rosh will be supported by Glasgow City Council on SME''s and Community Enterprises in Strathclyde on Social Enterprises.

Brookfield is also committed to ensuring that local contractors are used wherever possible. Bathgate based Dunne Group are to undertake a package of work, circa £100 million, for the substructure and superstructure works.

Key supply chain partners for M&E, building envelope and partitions are all in place. These companies will be seeking to resource their works in Scotland and will provide opportunity for subcontractors to work with them or for directly employed local resources.

Currently Brookfield Construction does not directly employ staff in Scotland. This will change imminently with both directly employed and indirectly employed staff to be engaged in relation to the New South Glasgow Hospital Project. Brookfield Construction is not a mass builder and as such, unlike the other bidders, do not have significant UK resource to find work for. Whilst they have a core team (20 to 30 people) capable of delivering the project, a significant number of the Brookfield team will be employed locally creating long-term employment for those involved. The project will require in excess of 2,500 operatives at its peak. Brookfield, and their supply chain, have committed that 10% of these workers will be new entrants to employment.

The Brookfield bid comprised a world class team of well established subcontractors and consultants, a number of whom are based in Scotland such as civil and structural engineers WSP; landscape architects Gillespies, cost consultants Doig and Smith and Bathgate based Dunne Group who will carry out the sub and super structure works in a package worth circa £100 million.

The Brookfield Director on the project will be Glaswegian Ross Ballingall who left Scotland 12 years ago to pursue major healthcare projects. He has since spent the last 12 years successfully delivering healthcare projects throughout the UK.

The Cape Town branch office supports Nightingale Associates in the UK for a single, highly-specialised phase of the design stage on any project. The SA-based team has developed highly efficient practices for producing approximately 3% of the overall design workload, the rest being completed in the UK. This enables the UK offices to invest more on the work that essentially must be produced in the UK because of its interface with the construction activities.

This well tried approach allows Nightingale the maximum potential for developing a Scotland-based design team using locally-recruited architects who will work from a newly-established office in Glasgow to deliver the vast majority of the architectural work. Nightingale Associates has a history of working in Scotland, and are committed to using local staff and resources as appropriate to the needs of the project.

The firm is currently also working on other projects through the NHSScotland''s Frameworks Scotland initiative in collaboration with other Scottish-based architects and design team members and are committed to employing local resources particularly during the delivery stages of the design process.

It is a matter for Nightingale''s to respond directly to the article.