The new 3-lot framework was set up by the Southern Construction Framework (SCF) and the North West Construction Hub (NWCH) and will be used to complement their respective contractor panels.

It is intended to be used by all public sector bodies within the regions, covering nursery, primary and secondary education, higher and further education, community infrastructure, sports and leisure, and fire, police and health services.

Services delivered via the framework will be full multi-disciplinary consultancy covering project management, lead designer, architecture, multi-disciplinary engineering, cost management, health and safety, sustainability and the full range of specialist technical services required for successful project delivery.

The new SCF Consult framework will dovetail with the successful and well-established construction frameworks and will provide a seamless approach to two-stage open book procurement.

The primary aim is to bring together the whole project team and all the relevant pre-construction information at an earlier stage, leading to greater cost and time certainty and a superior quality project.

The framework will also focus on delivering social value to local communities through training and apprenticeships and targeted spend with local SMEs.

The SCF has delivered £600m of construction work annually over the past four years whilst the combined figure for the NWCH and West Midlands Framework totals £450m annually.

AECOM Government Sector Lead, Lucy Carraz, said: “AECOM is delighted to win these framework places, enabling us to draw on our multi-disciplinary expertise to work with our construction partners to deliver projects where quality and value are the watchwords.

“The projects we will contribute to will bring positive legacies for the communities involved through both new facilities and broader benefits, such as training and apprenticeship opportunities.”