CHIC CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION - WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY 2024
at Telford International Centre

REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE PLACE

CHIC Away Day 2023

In October the CHIC team held our annual strategic awayday. We continued our progress on delivering the business strategy, as agreed by the Board on behalf of our members. We also reviewed how we currently market and promote CHIC to members and prospective members and how we should do so in the future.

As the CHIC Team has grown over the last year, this was a great opportunity for colleagues to learn more about each others roles and to cement our values as a member owned and governed consortium.

John Fisher, Chief Executive said “It was great to get the team together to review our business and marketing strategies. The day was both informative and positive and I am grateful to all CHIC colleagues for their input and investment in what we achieve.”

After a good days work, the team relaxed with a round of crazy golf. Our star players were Hannah Gould and Stephen Sharman – not that anyone was competitive!

In last months CHIC CHAT, we unveiled three forthcoming framework procurements and we now confirm their official launch will be later this month, so we invite tenders for all of these from prospective supply chain partners. We are also pleased to now release our new Healthy Homes Framework.

As part of our commitment to facilitating efficient procurement for our members, CHIC is embarking on a competitive tendering process to establish some replacement 4-year Frameworks where three existing frameworks are due to expire. These are for:

Kitchens & BathroomsThe Kitchens & Bathrooms Framework is for the installation of kitchens, bathrooms, and associated goods. This framework plays an important role in ensuring that residential properties can be equipped with modern, functional and aesthetically pleasing kitchens and bathrooms.

M&E (Mechanical and Electrical)The M&E Framework will cover a broad spectrum of heating and related systems. This includes services aimed at enabling clients to adequately maintain heating systems, electrical components and fulfill renewable energy obligations.

Passive Fire ProtectionThe Passive Fire Protection Framework is for the inspection, installation, repair and maintenance of passive fire stopping products. This includes critical services such as the creation of fire compartments, installation of fire doors, external wall systems/cladding and fire signage, ensuring that fire safety in residential and commercial properties is a top priority.

Healthy HomesDesigned to tackle energy inefficiency and improve overall living conditions, this framework is key for social housing landlords to ensure that their retrofitting and property safety works are sustainable, cost effective and socially responsible.

This encompasses a wide range of solutions aimed at enhancing residential properties and the lives of tenants. It will allow landlords to deliver retrofit energy efficiency solutions and property safety refurbishment works, providing access to a range of CHIC supply chain partners to deliver a variety of retrofit and building safety solutions such as Consultancy Services, Fabric First Measures, Ventilation Systems, Renewable Energy and Heat Systems, House Refurbishment, Damp and Mould Treatments and Digital Measuring Tools and Platforms.

Should you have any enquiries or require further information regarding these Frameworks or the tendering process, please do not hesitate to contact Ade Osunsanmi, Senior Procurement Manager, at tenders@chicltd.co.uk.

The Procurement Bill has successfully made its way through Parliament and we now have a new Procurement Act.

These wholesale reforms will update and improve the process for public procurement, so that every pound goes further for our public services.

The new Act will give procurement teams across the housing and communities sector greater commercial freedom and flexibility to design procurement processes that meet their organisations exact needs and to drive innovation.

It will help us open up public procurement further to smaller businesses and social enterprises so they can compete for more contracts and will embed transparency through the contract lifecycle - so everyone can access procurement data and see how public money is spent.

A new and stronger exclusions framework will make it easier to exclude any suppliers that present unacceptable risks to members.

Why do these changes matter?

These reforms should help to put procurement front and center, creating a real opportunity for us to innovate, open up the marketplace and drive greater value.

The Act creates simpler, more flexible and effective procurement procedures which will improve how your organisation delivers public services, so as a profession we need to make sure we make the most of the new regime and take advantage of the new flexibilities. It’s not just about the rule book changing – it’s how the rules are applied that will make the biggest difference. And this depends on cultural and behavioral change.

CHIC Procurement Team will be taking part in a funded training offer to support implementation of the reforms. For anyone whose work touches on procurement - and that will include CHIC suppliers, and to ensure that procurement and commercial practitioners, who will already be familiar with the current rules, understand what will be different under the new rules, the Procurement Team will be responsible for coordinating and championing the change and be able to provide ongoing support and guidance to both our members and our supply chain partners about the new regime.

You should also consider the procurement and contract management capability across your organisation and consider benchmarking your organisation against relevant commercial and procurement operating standards and other comparable organisations, in line with the National Procurement Policy Statement.

We expect the new regime to go live in October 2024, with at least six months’ implementation period before launch.

The Procurement Act has the potential to make a huge difference, and your engagement is essential to the outcomes we all want to see. Make sure you and your organisation is ready to grasp the opportunities.

If you would like to know more information or have any questions, do let us know at tenders@chicltd.co.uk

We will host discussions with over 40 of our key stakeholders on further progress and how this aligns with Welsh Government expectations. We will hear from sector expert Darren Phelan from the MSS Group, Andrew Partington from Netret Group, Daniel Dunning from the Welsh Government and Dusi Thomas from Bron Afon, sharing their experience of the Optimised Retrofit Programme.

Feedback has been carefully considered and has influenced the agenda. Key discussion points will encompass the following:

Optimised Retrofit, Repairs and Building SafetyHow can we ensure all these demands work together effectively, to provide high quality, warm homes for Wales?

WHQS 2023What is the impact of WHQS on future investment capacity and on ORP3?

ORP 3 Year 2How has the ORP journey been so far? What works well and what could be improved to achieve the best possible outputs (financial, qualitative, and social) from ORP as a whole?

Skills & Resources – how can we deliver for the long term?How can we ensure we have the right skills and resources to deliver retrofit investment in Wales?

Supporting the Supply ChainHow can we integrate our Supply Chain demand, if we all want the same materials?

Following the discussions, we will be publishing a findings paper so be sure to keep an eye out on our website at www.chicltd.co.uk. There is still (just) time register your place. To do so, please send an email to Head of Member Services (Wales) Jackie Leonard at jleonard@chicltd.co.uk

To read the findings paper from the first roundtable discussion, please CLICK HERE.

CHIC Steps Up: Surpasses 10 Million Steps Milestone in Charity Fundraising Effort

In a remarkable display of teamwork and commitment, the CHIC team has not only met but exceeded its target of walking 10 million steps between August and October, with an impressive two weeks to spare. The total number of steps walked in three months totalled over 12.7m!

The motivation behind this collective effort is a charitable cause close to CHIC's heart, raising funds for its aligned charity CHIP (Communities and Housing Investment in People). CHIP ensures that social value dividends are directly delivered as a result of CHIC's asset management and procurement activities. To learn more about CHIP and its initiatives, visit the charity's website at www.chipcharity.org.uk

A heartfelt thank you is extended to our generous corporate sponsors, Robert Price and KOK Surveyors, whose support has been greatly appreciated in driving the success of this initiative. Equally, gratitude is extended to everyone who contributed to our cause. If you haven't had the chance to contribute yet, there's still time to make a difference. Visit our JustGiving page at https://lnkd.in/eXS24M8a to donate and be a part of this meaningful endeavour.

The dedication of the CHIC team, coupled with the generosity of sponsors and donators, has resulted in a significant achievement. We are thrilled to announce that over £1,200 has been raised to support CHIP's activities. Our team steps show the power of collaboration but also underscore CHIC's commitment to making a positive impact beyond the direct support for procurement and asset management services. Together, we stride forward, making steps that matter.

THE FINAL TOP THREE STEPPERS

1st JOHN FISHER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE: 1,057,827

2nd KIERAN WAUD-SHAW, COMMERICAL COORDINATOR: 1,003,597

3rd SARAH DAVEY, HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT: 969,118