NHS SBS Public Sector Construction Works 2 Framework
Public Sector Construction Works 2 is the NHS Shared Business Services construction framework worth £750m excluding VAT (£900m including VAT). NHS SBS delayed the procurement on 3 September 2026: the tender notice is now expected in mid to late November 2026 and submissions close on 8 January 2027, a window of roughly seven weeks across Christmas. It is expected to be evaluated 60% quality, 30% commercial and 10% social value, has three lots, and runs four years from 8 December 2027 to 7 December 2031.
Key facts at a glance
- Buyer
- NHS Shared Business Services
- Value
- £750 million excluding VAT (£900 million including VAT)
- Tender notice
- Expected mid to late November 2026 (delayed from 7 September 2026)
- Submissions
- 8 January 2027, to be confirmed by the notice
- Enquiries
- Close 4 December 2026, five weeks before submission
- Award
- Expected 20 October 2027
- Term
- Four years, 8 December 2027 to 7 December 2031
- Evaluation
- 60% quality, 30% commercial, 10% social value and sustainability
- Lots
- Three: minor works to £5m, intermediate works £5m to £15m, major works above £15m
- Portal
- SAP Ariba. A valid DUNS number is required to register
- Coverage
- United Kingdom, plus Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man
What is Public Sector Construction Works 2?
Public Sector Construction Works 2, often shortened to PS-Works 2, is the second generation of the NHS Shared Business Services construction framework. It gives NHS trusts, social care bodies and other authorised public sector clients a compliant route to procure construction, refurbishment, demolition and civil engineering work.
The published value is £750 million excluding VAT, rising to £900 million including VAT, over a four-year term now expected to run from 8 December 2027 to 7 December 2031. Geographic coverage extends beyond England to the wider United Kingdom and to Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
It sits alongside rather than inside the NHS England ProCure route and the Government Commercial Agency construction framework. A contractor serious about NHS capital work is usually looking at more than one of these, and the sequencing question, which to bid and in what order, is worth more than the writing on any single one.
Quality is 60 per cent of the score
The evaluation is expected to split 60% quality, 30% commercial and 10% social value and sustainability. That single fact should shape how a contractor resources this bid, because it means the written response decides it. A keen price on a mid-scoring quality submission does not win a place on a framework weighted this way, and a strong quality submission survives a price that is merely competitive.
It also means the 10% on social value is not a rounding error. On a regional panel where places are limited, ten points is routinely the gap between an appointment and a near miss, and it is the section most often written last, fastest and worst.
The outgoing framework ran five lots and capped each regional lot at ten contractors per region. PS-Works 2 consolidates to three. Whatever the final supplier numbers, a small panel and a quality-led evaluation is a combination that rewards preparation and punishes a submission assembled in the last fortnight.
The window is about seven weeks, and Christmas is in it
NHS SBS confirmed on 3 September 2026 that the notice originally due on 7 September will now publish in mid to late November 2026, with enquiries closing 4 December and submissions on 8 January 2027. Seven weeks sounds sufficient until you subtract the Christmas shutdown, SAP Ariba registration and DUNS verification, reading the pack, deciding lots and regions, assembling project references with contactable referees, reissuing accreditations that have lapsed, internal sign off, and the upload itself.
Almost none of that has to wait for the notice. Ariba registration, the DUNS number, the reference schedule and the accreditation audit can all be done now, and every day of it done after the notice is a day taken away from writing. The two-month delay is the most useful thing that has happened to a late starter on this framework. The contractors who struggle with it are rarely the ones who cannot write. They are the ones who open the pack in December.
Why the lot structure favours regional contractors
This is the fact that should determine whether you bid. Lot 1, minor works up to £5 million, and Lot 2, intermediate works from £5 million to £15 million, are both let regionally across twelve geographical areas, with a panel of suppliers appointed per area. Lot 3, major works above £15 million, is national and sits on a restricted panel.
For a regional contractor turning over £10m to £80m, that regional split is the whole opportunity. You are not competing against national tier ones across the country; you are competing for a place in your own region, against a field you probably already know from local authority and NHS trust work. That is a materially better bid or no-bid calculation than most national frameworks offer.
The corollary is that a regional contractor bidding Lot 3 because it looks more prestigious is usually making an expensive mistake. Bid the lot your delivered project values evidence, not the one your ambition points at.
What NHS estates evaluators actually score
Healthcare construction evaluation turns on one thing more than any other: evidence that you can build on a live, occupied clinical estate without disrupting care. Infection control compliance during works, awareness of the relevant Health Technical Memoranda and Health Building Notes, phased handovers planned around clinical operations, out-of-hours and weekend working, and controlled access on sites where patients and staff never leave.
Contractors who write generic construction submissions score badly here, and the reason is straightforward. A commercial fit-out method statement and an NHS ward refurbishment method statement are not the same document, and an evaluator who runs an estates department can tell within a paragraph which one you have submitted.
The other recurring failure is treating financial standing, insurances and accreditation as paperwork to be done at the end. On this framework they are gates against the lot value bands you are bidding. If they are not current when you submit, the quality of your writing is irrelevant.
What to do before the notice publishes
The single highest-value action right now is SAP Ariba registration. NHS SBS runs its procurements there and registration requires a valid DUNS number. Contractors routinely discover this in the first week of the response window and lose days to an administrative step that could have been completed in August.
After that: pull your NHS and healthcare project references into one place with contract values, client names, dates and referees; confirm every accreditation and insurance is in date against the lot bands you intend to bid; and decide your regions honestly, on delivery capability rather than on where you would like to be working.
A note on the dates. The original timetable (notice 7 September 2026, submissions 19 October 2026, framework from September 2027) was withdrawn by NHS SBS on 3 September 2026. The revised dates on this page come from Construction News and Low Carbon Buildings, both citing NHS SBS, and are still pre-notice. The binding timetable is the one in the published notice on Find a Tender and the Ariba pack. Plan against the estimates, diarise against the notice.
Who should apply?
PS-Works 2 is relevant to contractors including:
Frequently asked questions
When does the NHS SBS Public Sector Construction Works 2 tender open?
Later than first announced. NHS SBS delayed the procurement on 3 September 2026: the tender notice is now expected in mid to late November 2026, enquiries close 4 December 2026, submissions close 8 January 2027 and award is expected 20 October 2027. Those dates are pre-notice, so treat them as planning estimates and confirm the binding timetable from the published notice on Find a Tender.
What are the lots on PS-Works 2?
Three. Lot 1 covers minor works up to £5 million and Lot 2 intermediate works from £5 million to £15 million, both let regionally across twelve geographical areas with a panel appointed per area. Lot 3 covers major works above £15 million on a national restricted panel.
How much is the framework worth?
£750 million excluding VAT, rising to £900 million including VAT, across a four-year term now expected to run from 8 December 2027 to 7 December 2031. It is available to NHS organisations, social care bodies and other public sector clients authorised by NHS SBS, across the United Kingdom plus Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
What do I need to register for the tender?
NHS SBS uses SAP Ariba as its e-sourcing platform, and registration requires a valid DUNS number. Both should be completed before the notice publishes. Contractors who begin registration inside the response window routinely lose several days of writing time to it.
Is this the same as NHS ProCure or CWAS3?
No. Public Sector Construction Works 2 is an NHS Shared Business Services framework and is separate from the NHS England ProCure route and from the Government Commercial Agency construction framework, which is where ProCure24 is being taken to market. They are different buyers, different portals and different submissions, and a contractor serious about NHS capital work usually needs a considered position on more than one.
Can a mid-market regional contractor realistically win a place?
Yes, and this framework is unusually well suited to it. Because Lots 1 and 2 appoint a panel per geographical area rather than nationally, a regional contractor competes within its own region against a comparable field rather than against national tier ones. The determining factor is evidence of delivery on live, occupied healthcare estates at the relevant project values. Call 020 3668 5488 or send us the deadline and we will come back with a Teams time.
Go deeper: by lot, and by where you are up to
Be ready when PS-Works 2 publishes
The notice is expected in September and the window will be short. SAP Ariba registration, healthcare project references and current accreditations are the work to do before it opens, not after. Call 020 3668 5488 or send us the deadline and we will come back with a Teams time.