Last Tuesday, the pressures of building safety echoed throughout the SPA office as we welcomed a third of our partners to discuss one of the sector's most pressing challenges: Managing Safety for Scotland's Existing Buildings. The event brought together representatives from housing, local authorities, blue light services and arms-length organisations to explore challenges facing Scotland's ageing assets and efforts to balance compliance, investment priorities and, ultimately, resident wellbeing.
We began the day by reflecting on SPA's support for the sector over the past year while celebrating a significant milestone. This year’s AGM marked ten years of delivering collaborative procurement solutions that have reshaped how Scotland’s public sector teams produce more for the places they live and work in.
Over the last decade, we have facilitated more than £2.7 billion in procurement activity, returned £6.7 million to partners through community benefit and rebate initiatives, and continued to facilitate collaboration across the sector. From framework launches and industry recognition to team growth and partner success stories, each highlight brought home the collective impact made possible through partnership and a shared commitment to communities.
What followed reinforced the importance of listening, adapting and working alongside our partners as they navigate the growing complexities of estate management. Speakers from SFHA, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Housing Regulator and Morton Fraser MacRoberts drilled into Scotland’s built environment, addressing fire safety compliance, stonework issues and RAAC to large panel systems, brownfield regeneration, and the growing impact of climate-related events and natural disasters.
With much of Scotland’s future housing need expected to be met through existing buildings, understanding the condition, performance and risks associated with all kinds of properties will be essential. This was particularly evident in discussions around future regulatory expectations, where access to reliable building data could inform better decision making and investment priorities.
As for delivery, Under One Roof, RCI Technical Services and NBM Consultants shared practical approaches to managing existing assets, covering mixed-tenure repairs, fire safety and risk management. Each of the insights underpinned the benefit of identifying risks early with reliable data and specialist expertise to reduce costs, delays and disruption. We also explored how a joined-up procurement approach can help organisations define their needs, respond to urgent repairs and manage contracts effectively whilst capturing wider benefits related to economies of scale.
Our panel opened the discussion up to partners, giving rise to the disconnect between regulatory expectations and the funding available. With short funding windows making complex remediation works difficult to plan and deliver at the scale required, our speakers reflected on how clearer, longer-term strategy informed by evidence and asset data could give organisations greater confidence to plan and deliver remediation effectively.
As the day came to a close, underlying each discussion was a recognition that we must view risks through the lens of those living in and using these spaces every day. Building safety is not just a regulatory requirement, but something that affects us all. Whether you manage public assets, deliver housing and building services, or simply live, work, or visit these spaces, everyone has a role in creating safe and secure buildings.
Read more about our upcoming frameworks
Now as we bring the expectations of building safety into fruition, we are developing our procurement portfolio with the launch of new frameworks, designed to secure better outcomes through compliant procurement, tailored guidance and meaningful community benefits.
