The organisation is a National Housing Federation-backed alliance of housing associations and councils set up to increase the use of modern methods of construction (MMC) in social housing,

Procurement for Housing (PfH) is working with Building Better to develop the £800m framework to run over four years.

Traditional construction firms in ten different regions of England and Wales will be appointed, offering their services as lead contractors on MMC projects.

The ‘Integrated Traditional Build & MMC framework’ is being designed in response to calls from social housing providers for a compliant way of involving trusted, local contractors on MMC projects, where elements of traditional construction are often still needed.

With a growing number of MMC manufacturers supplying only their systems – rather than taking the principal contractor role – housing providers want to bring in local, trusted construction firms who can lead offsite projects. This will also allow housing associations and local authorities to continue investing in local contractors.

To shape the framework, PfH and Building Better have spoken to SME building firms across the country, gathering feedback on how an agreement would best work, including ways to make the procurement process more straightforward and to develop the most effective contracting environment.

The framework will cover the construction of housing, apartments, and extra care homes and there will be a regional lot structure. A contract notice will be issued in March 2024, with successful bidders appointed in the summer.