NHS SBS Public Sector Construction Works 2 is shaping up to be one of the more significant construction framework opportunities in the current NHS and public sector pipeline. With an estimated value of £750 million, it will create a route for contractors to compete for construction, refurbishment, demolition and related works across NHS organisations and the wider public sector.
The tender is expected to be published on 7 September 2026, with submissions currently scheduled to close on 19 October. That gives potential bidders a relatively short period to turn the opportunity into a compliant, well-evidenced framework submission. There is plenty that suppliers can do before then, from deciding which lot genuinely fits their business to preparing project evidence, sustainability commitments and delivery methodologies.
What Is NHS SBS Public Sector Construction Works 2?
Public Sector Construction Works 2, reference SBS10533, is the planned successor to the existing NHS SBS Public Sector Construction Works framework. It is designed for use by NHS and social care organisations alongside a much broader range of authorised public sector bodies. The current NHS SBS construction framework can be accessed by organisations including local authorities, universities, schools, housing associations, emergency services and central government bodies, so suppliers should not think of SBS10533 as an NHS-only opportunity.
The planned framework has three lots:
| Lot | Scope | Geography |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 1: Minor Works | £0 to £5 million | Regional |
| Lot 2: Intermediate Works | £5 million to £15 million | Regional |
| Lot 3: Major Works | £15 million+ | National |
Lots 1 and 2 will be divided across 12 geographical areas, while Lot 3 is intended for national delivery. The framework is currently planned to run from 10 September 2027 to 9 September 2031. The restructuring is worth noting. The current framework has five value-based lots, whereas the planned replacement consolidates these into three broader categories. For contractors, that makes the early question relatively simple: where can you demonstrate that you are genuinely competitive?
What Does the Framework Cover?
The scope goes well beyond major new-build projects. Lot 1 is intended for lower-value works such as straightforward construction, extensions, refurbishment and maintenance. Lot 2 moves into moderately complex projects requiring more comprehensive contract arrangements, while Lot 3 covers large-scale construction, refurbishment and civil engineering projects involving greater investment, stakeholder complexity and management requirements.
The existing PS-Works framework also gives a useful indication of the breadth of requirements that NHS SBS construction routes can accommodate. These include:
- new builds
- alterations and refurbishment
- mechanical and electrical works
- demolition and remediation
- enabling and civil engineering works
- associated design services
- landscaping
- soft landings
- complete turnkey packages
For businesses already targeting NHS estates, there is some overlap in the skills and evidence likely to prove valuable across different routes to market. We have previously looked at this in our guide to RM6320 Construction Works and Associated Services 3, including ProCure 24, where live-site delivery, mobilisation, governance and supply-chain control all become particularly important.
Why Public Sector Construction Works 2 Is Worth Considering
There are three key reasons why SBS10533 can be strategically important for contractors seeking to build a longer-term public sector pipeline:
- Scale: The planned value is £750 million.
- Breadth: NHS SBS frameworks can support NHS buyers, but the eligible market extends much further into local government, education, housing and other areas of the public sector.
- Accessibility: All three planned lots have been identified as suitable for SMEs and VCSEs, while the regional structure of the first two lots creates opportunities for contractors that have strong local delivery capability without operating nationally.
For an SME construction business, therefore, the decision should not simply be:
Can we bid for this framework?
A better question is:
Which part of this framework can we support with the strongest evidence, capacity and commercial case?
That distinction matters. Stretching across every available geography or lot can create a larger bid without creating a stronger one.
Key Dates for Bidders
The current procurement timetable is:
| Milestone | Planned date |
|---|---|
| Tender notice publication | 7 September 2026 |
| Clarification/enquiry deadline | 28 September 2026 at 12pm |
| Tender submission deadline | 19 October 2026 at 12pm |
| Estimated award decision | 22 July 2027 |
| Framework start | 10 September 2027 |
These dates are particularly important from a bid-planning perspective. If the tender arrives as expected on 7 September, bidders will have around six weeks to access the documents, understand the evaluation model, coordinate subject-matter experts, prepare answers, gather evidence, complete compliance requirements, review the submission and secure final approval. That is enough time for a well-prepared bidder. It can become extremely tight for a business that waits until publication to decide who is going to write the bid.
What Should Construction Suppliers Prepare Now?
The most useful pre-tender work is not drafting generic answers in advance. It is making sure the evidence, people and processes you will need are ready when the questions arrive.
Build a Relevant Case Study Bank
Start by identifying projects that resemble the work you intend to target. Look beyond basic project value and consider:
- building or project type
- complexity
- occupied or live-site conditions
- contract form
- client type
- programme constraints
- stakeholder numbers
- subcontractor involvement
- geographical relevance
- measurable outcomes.
If you are targeting NHS work, experience on live healthcare estates can be particularly powerful. However, a strong public sector example from another environment may still demonstrate highly relevant capabilities such as stakeholder management, continuity, site control or working around vulnerable building users. The key is to explain why the evidence is relevant, rather than expecting an evaluator to make that connection.
Quantify Delivery Performance
“We completed the project successfully” is weak tender evidence. Useful data might include:
- percentage delivered on time
- variance against budget
- defect rates
- health and safety performance
- response or resolution times
- customer satisfaction
- social value delivered
- carbon reductions
- subcontractor performance
- waste diverted from landfill.
Build those figures into the case study while the relevant project teams can still retrieve them. This is also why good bid preparation should sit alongside your wider public sector sales pipeline, rather than starting when a tender alert lands. Organisations that know which frameworks they are targeting have much more time to collect evidence properly.
Put Sustainability and Social Value Near the Top of the Agenda
Sustainability and social value should not be treated as secondary parts of this opportunity. NHS SBS has already indicated that both will receive significant weighting within the Invitation to Tender. That means bidders should be asking now whether they can support their commitments with credible delivery plans.
For example, if you intend to promise local employment opportunities, can you explain:
- Who will be responsible?
- Which local partners you can work with?
- How opportunities will be created?
- When activity will begin?
- How outputs will be measured?
- How performance will be reported?
The same applies to carbon reduction, apprenticeships, supply-chain diversity, community engagement or any other commitment. Generic promises are relatively easy for competitors to make. Stronger answers explain how the commitment becomes a managed part of contract delivery.
This is particularly relevant to NHS suppliers as environmental requirements continue to develop. The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap is already moving towards expanded Carbon Reduction Plan requirements from April 2027, covering relevant global Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Think About Mobilisation Before You Write the Bid
Construction mobilisation answers often become lists of activities:
- appoint the team;
- hold a kick-off meeting;
- confirm the programme;
- mobilise subcontractors;
- establish reporting;
- begin works.
The problem is that most capable competitors can produce the same list. A stronger mobilisation approach shows how you move from award to controlled delivery. For example:
- Week one: confirm scope, assumptions, governance and decision-making routes.
- Early mobilisation: validate the programme, mobilise key personnel and subcontractors, establish reporting requirements and resolve immediate dependencies.
- Pre-start: confirm site controls, permits, stakeholder communications, logistics and risk arrangements.
- Go-live: demonstrate readiness against agreed criteria rather than simply reaching a calendar date.
For NHS estates projects, this can become even more important. Contractors may need to demonstrate how they will manage work alongside clinical activity, patient and staff movement, infection-control requirements, restricted access and changing operational priorities.
Make Supply-Chain Control Visible
If subcontractors are fundamental to your delivery model, they should not disappear from the tender response. An evaluator needs to understand how your standards will reach the whole supply chain. That may mean explaining:
- supplier selection and due diligence
- competency verification
- onboarding
- health and safety controls
- supervision
- quality inspections
- KPI monitoring
- escalation and corrective action
- payment practices
- contingency arrangements.
Statements such as “we only work with trusted subcontractors” add very little unless the bid explains how trust is established, monitored and maintained. The existing NHS SBS PS-Works framework places collaboration and an integrated supply chain among its core principles, alongside quality, procurement improvement and value for money.
Choose Your Lot and Geography Carefully
Framework bidding can encourage businesses to maximise their apparent opportunity by selecting every lot and region they might conceivably service. That is not always the best approach. Before making that decision, test each proposed lot or region against four questions:
- Do we have relevant evidence?
Can you demonstrate comparable work at the required scale and complexity? - Do we genuinely have delivery capacity?
Can your people, supply chain and management structure support the geographical commitments you are making? - Can we compete commercially?
A theoretically accessible market is not necessarily an attractive one once travel, mobilisation, resource and supply-chain costs are considered. - Would winning this work support our strategy?
Framework bidding consumes significant resource. Focus matters.
At Bidding, we generally encourage suppliers to treat the bid/no-bid decision as part of the bidding process itself. The objective is not to submit the maximum number of bids. It is to direct your resources towards opportunities where you have a credible route to winning profitable work.
Don’t Overlook the Submission Requirements
There are also practical steps that should be completed before the tender window becomes busy. Potential bidders will need access to SAP Ariba to reach the procurement opportunity and documentation. Suppliers must also be registered on the Central Digital Platform, with their Core Supplier Information kept up to date and downloaded for submission as part of the bid.
If SBS10533 is a priority, we would make sure the following are ready before 7 September:
- Confirm the lot and regions you intend to assess.
- Check SAP Ariba and Central Digital Platform access.
- Identify your bid lead and core subject-matter experts.
- Build a shortlist of relevant project examples.
- Gather measurable performance evidence.
- Review sustainability and social value evidence.
- Map your proposed delivery and supply-chain capacity.
- Reserve sufficient bid, review and approval time through to 19 October.
The intention is not to predict every tender question. It is to remove the avoidable work from the tender period so your team can concentrate on the areas that actually need thought.
Strengthen Your Public Sector Construction Bid
NHS SBS Public Sector Construction Works 2 has the potential to become an important route to market for construction suppliers across the NHS and wider public sector. The £750 million value makes it attractive, but framework value alone should never determine whether you bid. The stronger opportunity is the lot, geography and type of work that genuinely match your experience and growth plans.
Preparation now gives you more room to make those decisions properly. Build your evidence, understand your capacity, make sustainability and social value measurable, and make sure the people required to produce the submission are available before the tender opens.
At Bidding, we support construction suppliers with framework applications, bid strategy, bid writing and tender reviews. Our construction bid writing services cover businesses from regional SMEs to larger contractors competing for public sector frameworks and individual contracts.
If Public Sector Construction Works 2 is a priority for your business, Bidding can help you turn your construction experience into a structured, evidence-led submission that makes it easy for evaluators to understand why you should be appointed.
