The UK Parliament and the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Delivery Authority are inviting skilled heritage professionals to apply to work on the care and conservation of Parliament’s unique heritage collections.
Over the next four years, Parliament and the R&R Delivery Authority plan to offer contracts worth up to an estimated £4million in value to carry out day to day and R&R programme-based conservation work across the Palace of Westminster and the wider Parliamentary estate. This work will support core heritage collections activity as well as informing planning for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster. The Palace is a Grade I listed building and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Together Parliament and the R&R Delivery Authority are launching the Collections Conservation Dynamic Purchasing System (CCDPS) to make bidding to work with the parliamentary heritage collections more accessible for conservators. Once on the CCDPS, conservators will be eligible to bid for work with both Parliament and the R&R Delivery Authority.
Conservation contracts will be available to support the care of items including easel paintings, works on paper, horology, wall paintings, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, furniture and upholstery, and leather, amongst others.
Melissa Hamnett, Director of Heritage Collections and Chief Curator at Parliament says:
“Parliament is delighted to be collaborating with the Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority on this exciting new initiative. The Collections Conservation Dynamic Purchasing System will help us to access the skilled professionals we need to continue to care for and maintain our wonderful and diverse collections. We’re excited to be opening up opportunities for heritage specialists to bring their skills to work with us in Parliament’s unique environment.”
Andy Haynes, Commercial Director at the R&R Delivery Authority says:
“We are working with Parliament to make it easier for skilled heritage conservators to work on the preservation of Parliament’s heritage collections. We know it can be difficult for small companies and sole traders to access and navigate procurement systems, and in turn the R&R Delivery Authority faces a challenge to access the specialist skills it requires. The Collections Conservation Dynamic Purchasing System makes bidding for work more accessible and creates a pre-qualified pool of suppliers that are automatically alerted to any new contract opportunities.”
The R&R Programme is on track to bring costed proposals for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster to both Houses for a decision next year detailing costs, timescales, risks and benefits of three delivery options, all of which represent a significant, multi-billion pound and decades-long investment in the Palace. This highly complex project to improve one of the world’s most recognised buildings will support jobs and opportunities across the UK.