How can we help

Our work

Our work revolves around the three pillars of CAN: 1. Procurement 2. Fair Payment 3. Skills and training.

We build relationships with key organisations, for example we regularly address the procurement heads of all twelve Local Authorities of the North East and hold more in-depth quarterly meetings with individual authorities like Gateshead Council and Northumberland County Council.

We form alliances and support other key organisations involved in the North East construction industry and we have been a key supporter and contributor to the One Voice initiative which is a cross industry body promoting the local industry.

We campaign on individual issues such as material shortages working collaboratively with organisations such as the North East Procurement Organisation and others to raise awareness and offer solutions to the benefit of contractors.

This work ensures that regional contractors have a voice at the highest level in the industry here in the North East and that the issues experienced are heard.

The following are select examples of the work CAN do, for more updates please visit our Linkedin.

NEPO Construction Frameworks – achieving “Intelligent Procurement”

When North East Procurement Organisation, NEPO, began preparing documentation for its last Building Construction Works framework, CAN was pleased to be able to work closely with NEPO to ensure that local companies were not filtered out at an early stage in the process. Instead of turnover, CAN encouraged NEPO to focus on other key areas such as added social value, the creation of different value bands and direct employment
Regional companies accounted for 70 per cent of those on the framework, and they were also able to bid for a further £34m of imminent pipeline contracts, plus further work in the future.

NEPO’s category specialist, Joanne Peacock, added: “NEPO are grateful for the support CAN and other regional bodies have provided in the development of the NEPO Building Construction Works solution. This support has provided us with additional construction industry expertise which we have then used to improve the solution and to ensure it supports the North East region.

“These benefits can be seen from the contracts that have been awarded through the solution and the pipeline of projects that will be delivered through the solution in the future. NEPO are proud to promote the work we have undertaken in partnership with CAN and look forward to working with CAN in the future.”

One Voice Action Plan

The OneVoice Construction Strategy and Action Plan has been developed by the Construction Industry Council (CIC), Constructing Excellence North East (CENE), Construction Alliance North East (CAN) and Generation for Change (G4C).

The strategy was launched in 2020 with an aim to build a successful, sustainable, and inclusive construction industry which is equipped with the people and technology to deliver a carbon neutral, built environment, by 2050.

The OneVoice Action Plan, which allows for a shift in focus owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and changing attitudes in the industry, is built around three integrated themes to drive cultural change – climate, people, and value.

It will work with the Local Enterprise Partnerships to attract, develop, retain, reward and celebrate the North East talent pool and it is encouraging stakeholders and clients to recognise value over cost to drive a better built environment and ensure a confident supply chain.

Tim Bailey, chair of CENE, said: “The regional construction strategy has developed from national initiatives and it has taken time and effort to gain traction. The industry is fragmented and stubborn when trying to address key issues and it is our overriding aim to unify the sector and support the OneVoice Action Plan.

“OneVoice responds to industry advances driven by the Construction Leadership Council and delivers at a regional level, with a renewed industry ambition to address the climate emergency.”

CAN Are working with Gateshead Council

CAN regularly meet with Gateshead Council to discuss the procurement opportunities for local contractors and the importance of fair procurement opportunities. CAN also discussed skills, fair payment and social value which are key components of CAN’s agenda.

The Council recognised the need to use local companies more and are open to looking at how this can be achieved, with the help of the CAN committee. This is very positive news for regional SMEs as public sector tender opportunities can often be unfavourable to them.

To add to this, CAN discussed the possibility of becoming a ‘portal’ to the regional construction industry alongside the Council and local contractors to further expand their knowledge of the regional construction industry. It is a proposal which the Council is currently considering.

Speaking about their initial meeting with the Council, Ken Parkin CAN chair said: “It was good to hear that the council gained a better understanding of the regional industry and the barriers to regional companies winning public sector work. They recognised the need to use local companies more and are very open to looking at how this can be achieved.

“We spoke about visibility and pipelines of work and the Council understood the benefits of engaging with the regional industry more via CAN and saw the meeting as the start of a dialogue between the two bodies.”

CAN Fighting the Battle Against Materials Shortages

CAN has followed closely the deepening materials shortage crisis and recently met with representatives from the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) and CECA to discuss a unified approach to alleviating the situation.

During the meeting, Builders Merchants Federation CEO John Newcomb outlined the depth the crisis which is gripping the UK’s four nations. He explained that driver shortages and shipping costs, which have risen 525% in the last year, are two key areas that need to be understood on a wider level to alleviate the issues.

CAN feels this issue needs all parties working together is the only way to tackle this issue and the first step towards this is to raise awareness across the entire industry.

CAN chair Ken Parkin said: “I don’t think there is a business in our region that has not been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure of sites during the various periods of lockdown, staff issues and now ongoing materials shortages in our industry, means many firms are still battling the financial impact of the pandemic.

“The industry has never been in this situation before so It is important that CAN understands national issues which affect us here in the North East so we can learn from this in future and explain it to our regional membership. CAN strongly believes that planning ahead and working collaboratively with suppliers and clients is the only way to minimise the impact of this global issue on North East contractors.”

CAN organised an industry summit in 2021 with NEPO, CECA and the BMF to discuss the issue with the with a wide variety of cross companies and other organisations. This summit had over 150 registered attendees