Highland Council is preparing to establish a major framework for housing and property maintenance services across the Inner Moray Firth area. With an estimated value of £49.6 million and sub-lots covering more than 20 individual trades, the opportunity could be relevant to local specialists, regional contractors and larger multi-trade providers.
The full tender documents have not yet been published, but suppliers can already assess where they fit and prepare the evidence likely to be needed. Acting early will be particularly valuable for contractors considering several sub-lots or relying on input from operational, commercial and compliance teams.
The framework at a glance
The Inner Moray Firth Housing and Property Maintenance Framework is being developed by Highland Council to provide maintenance services on an “as and when required” basis.
| Framework detail | Current information |
| Buyer | Highland Council |
| Estimated value | £49.6 million excluding VAT |
| Current status | Prior information notice |
| Geographical area | Inner Moray Firth |
| Key locations | Inverness, Nairn, Dingwall, Beauly, Tain and Fort Augustus |
| Structure | Two main lots divided into individual trade sub-lots |
| Expected duration | A minimum of three years, with a potential extension |
| Estimated contract notice date | 3 August 2026 |
Highland Council intends to appoint several suitably qualified and experienced contractors. Suppliers may be able to bid for one or more lots and sub-lots, provided they meet the final specification and participation requirements.
However, the Council does not guarantee any minimum volume of work or orders. Contractors must assess the opportunity commercially rather than treating the full framework value as a reliable indication of their potential income.
How is the framework divided?
The framework has two main lots: Housing and Property. Although many of the trades overlap, the environments in which the services will be delivered are different.
Lot 1: Housing
The Housing lot will support repairs and maintenance within Highland Council homes. Its proposed sub-lots are:
- General builder works
- Specialist cleaning
- Plumbing
- Heating and ventilation
- Joinery
- General electrical repairs and minor works
- Specialist electrical systems and complex works
- Painting and decorating
- Roofing and guttering
- Groundworks and excavation
- Principal contractor services
Contractors familiar with housing association tenders will recognise many of the service considerations involved. The work may take place in occupied homes, which means technical competence must be supported by strong communication, access management and customer care.
Suppliers may need to explain how operatives will arrange appointments, identify themselves, protect residents’ property, communicate delays and support vulnerable tenants. A technically correct repair can still result in poor service if the resident is not kept informed.
Lot 2: Property
The Property lot covers Highland Council’s wider estate, including schools, offices and other council-owned public buildings. The proposed sub-lots include:
- Civils and drainage
- Fencing and gates
- General builder works
- Joinery
- Painting and decorating
- Roofing
- Electrical services
- Heating
- Plumbing
- Ventilation
- Multi-trade services
These contracts may involve work within occupied public buildings where disruption must be carefully controlled. Contractors could need to work around school hours, public access, staff activities and essential services.
The Property lot may therefore place particular emphasis on planning, safeguarding, permits, stakeholder communication and maintaining business continuity.
Which suppliers should consider bidding?
The framework could suit businesses ranging from specialist local trades to established multi-service maintenance contractors.
Potential bidders include:
- Responsive repairs contractors
- Electrical, heating and ventilation specialists
- Plumbing and drainage businesses
- Roofing and external works contractors
- Cleaning and decorating providers
- General builders and joinery contractors
- Principal contractors
- Multi-trade facilities and property maintenance providers
Being able to perform the relevant trade is only the starting point. Suppliers should consider whether they can deliver consistently across the required locations and respond within the timescales eventually set by Highland Council.
Before deciding to bid, assess:
- Your directly relevant contract experience.
- The locations your workforce can realistically cover.
- Your emergency and out-of-hours capacity.
- Available qualified labour and supervisory resource.
- Current and anticipated workload.
- Travel, materials and mobilisation costs.
- Reliance on subcontractors or temporary labour.
- Your systems for receiving, scheduling and reporting jobs.
- Experience of occupied homes or operational public buildings.
- Whether the likely work allocation justifies the cost of bidding.
Suppliers should not automatically target every available sub-lot. A focused submission based on strong evidence is likely to be more credible than an overly broad bid that stretches the organisation’s capacity.
What does “as and when required” mean?
Appointment to a framework does not always result in a predictable workload. Highland Council has expressly stated that it will not guarantee the volume of work or orders placed through this agreement.
The full documents should explain how individual jobs or packages will be allocated. Suppliers will need to understand:
- Whether contractors will be ranked
- Whether work will rotate between appointed suppliers
- Whether further competitions will be used
- How geography and availability will influence allocation
- Whether contractors can reject individual instructions
- The response times for accepting and attending jobs
- How pricing will be adjusted during the framework
- What happens when a supplier repeatedly declines work
This allocation model should form part of the bid or no-bid decision. A supplier may be capable of delivering the service but unable to price it competitively if jobs are small, geographically dispersed or unpredictable.
What might Highland Council look for?
The full award criteria will only be known when the tender documents are released. Based on the framework scope and the nature of maintenance services, several areas are likely to require careful preparation.
Mobilisation and geographical coverage
Suppliers may need to demonstrate how they will establish the service, allocate resources and manage work across the Inner Moray Firth area.
A credible mobilisation plan could cover:
- Named contract and operational leads
- Workforce locations
- Depot and storage arrangements
- Vehicles, equipment and stock
- Scheduling and job management systems
- Emergency and out-of-hours cover
- Escalation routes
- Subcontractor mobilisation
- Client reporting arrangements
- Business continuity
Avoid relying on statements such as “we have a strong local presence”. Explain where staff and resources are located, which areas they can cover and how quickly they can respond.
Tenant and building-user experience
For housing work, the customer journey will matter. The Scottish Housing Regulator’s performance information for Highland Council includes measures covering emergency repairs, non-emergency repairs, first-time fixes and satisfaction with repair and maintenance services.
Contractors may influence each of these outcomes. Your response should show how delivery processes support both technical completion and resident satisfaction.
Useful areas to address include:
- Appointment confirmation and reminders
- Procedures for vulnerable residents
- Failed access
- Communication during delays
- Staff identification and conduct
- Protection of homes and belongings
- Complaint handling
- Post-completion checks
- Feedback and satisfaction monitoring
For schools, offices and other council properties, bidders should provide equivalent detail about safeguarding, site access, communication and reducing disruption.
Performance and quality management
Highland Council is likely to require contractors to monitor service delivery and provide accurate management information.
Prepare evidence covering:
- Emergency response times
- Jobs completed within target
- First-time fix rates
- Repeat visits and defects
- Inspection results
- Complaints
- Customer satisfaction
- Health and safety performance
- Incomplete or overdue jobs
- Corrective actions
Do not simply list KPIs. Explain who collects the information, how it is validated, who reviews performance and what happens when results fall below target.
Clear answers for different evaluators
A maintenance framework may be assessed by people from procurement, housing, property, finance, health and safety and operational services.
Thinking about who is marking your bid helps ensure that technical answers remain understandable to the whole panel. A specialist evaluator may understand trade terminology, while a procurement or finance representative will also want clarity around risk, responsibilities, value and measurable outcomes.
Spell out abbreviations, use clear headings and connect technical controls to the benefits they create. The evaluator should not have to infer why a process matters.
Community benefits and local impact
Highland Council’s Community Benefits Policy states that meaningful environmental, social and economic value should be considered across its procurement activity where relevant and proportionate.
For a framework of this scale, bidders should be ready to propose measurable activity. Depending on the sub-lot and anticipated workload, this could include:
- Apprenticeships and trainee opportunities
- Local recruitment
- Work placements
- Careers engagement
- Workforce training
- Opportunities for SMEs and third-sector organisations
- Prompt payment of subcontractors
- Shorter and more resilient supply chains
- Environmental improvements
- Support for local community projects
Promises should be proportionate to the work awarded. A contractor cannot confidently commit to a fixed number of jobs if it does not know how much work it will receive.
A better approach may be to use commitments linked to expenditure, workforce hours or call-off value, supported by clear reporting arrangements.
What evidence should contractors prepare?
Suppliers can reduce pressure during the tender period by organising their evidence now.
Company and compliance information
Review the validity and relevance of:
- Insurance certificates
- Accounts and financial information
- Health and safety policies
- Quality procedures
- Environmental policies
- Trade accreditations
- Workforce qualifications
- Data protection arrangements
- Business continuity plans
- Fair Work information
- Subcontractor checks
The tender may specify minimum standards or particular accreditations. Do not assume that a requirement used in a previous Highland Council procurement will automatically apply here.
Relevant case studies
For each sub-lot you plan to target, prepare examples covering comparable work.
Record:
- The client and contract period
- The services delivered
- Contract value
- Property types
- Geographical coverage
- Workforce and resources
- Response requirements
- Measurable results
- Problems resolved
- Reference details
A case study should show relevance, not simply scale. A smaller contract delivered across dispersed occupied properties may be stronger evidence than a larger project completed on one vacant site.
Operational processes
Create clear explanations for how your organisation will:
- Receive and acknowledge instructions
- Prioritise urgent work
- Schedule operatives
- Communicate with residents or building users
- Manage access
- Inspect completed work
- Handle complaints
- Manage subcontractors
- Report performance
- Resolve recurring issues
Process diagrams can help internal teams agree responsibilities, but the final written answer must still explain the controls and outcomes clearly.
How to prepare before the tender opens
The formal competition is expected shortly, so suppliers should use the available preparation window carefully.
Start by selecting realistic lots and identifying the people who will contribute to the bid. Operational managers, estimators, HR, health and safety, finance and senior leaders may all hold information needed for the response.
Review your Public Contracts Scotland account to make sure contact information, alert settings and user access are current. Suppliers can record interest in the notice so that they receive updates, but they will still need to follow the final tender instructions and submit a formal response.
Once the documents are published:
- Confirm the deadline and clarification date.
- Review all pass or fail requirements.
- Check the final lot structure.
- Understand how work will be allocated.
- Assess the pricing model.
- Map every scored question to its evaluation criteria.
- Assign owners and internal review dates.
- Raise clarifications early.
- Leave enough time for portal checks and upload.
Do not begin drafting before confirming that the opportunity is commercially and operationally viable.
Strengthen your Inner Moray Firth framework bid
The Inner Moray Firth Housing and Property Maintenance Framework could provide valuable opportunities across a wide range of building, engineering and maintenance trades. Success will depend on more than selecting the right sub-lot. Contractors will need to demonstrate geographical capacity, reliable service delivery, strong customer care and measurable performance.
AM Bid can help you assess the opportunity, plan your response and turn operational knowledge into clear, evaluator-focused answers. Through our bid writing support, we can provide targeted additional capacity or manage the submission from the initial document review through to completion.
Speak to AM Bid about preparing for the Inner Moray Firth Housing and Property Maintenance Framework.