The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a new construction framework which will deliver more than £15bn worth of capital improvements to education facilities across England.

The Construction Framework 25 (CF25) will succeed the existing CF21 framework, which expires in November, and will run for six years from January 2026, with the option to extend by a further two years.

It will cover new-build and refurbishment projects for schools, colleges, and universities, as well as associated community facilities.

Work will be procured under 10 regional lots, split by project value and location, and is expected to total £15.4bn (£18.4bn with VAT).

Two of the lots will cover projects worth more than £12m in the North and South respectively, while eight lots are for schemes valued between £4.4m-£12m.

The low-value band may extend to projects worth up to £15m.

The framework will use a two-stage procurement process with bidders first passing a pre-qualification questionnaire to tender for specific lots.

Contractors can then apply for overlapping lots in adjacent regions, but must state preferences, with rules in place to avoid multiple awards unless capacity remains unfilled.

A maximum of 10 suppliers will be appointed to each high-value lot and seven to each low-value lot and contracts may be awarded via mini-competition or direct allocation.

The framework will be available to a wide range of public sector bodies, including local authorities, academies, universities, and LocatED Property Limited.

The DfE said the extended duration of the framework is intended to support long-term investment, innovation, and consistency in delivery.

The deadline for requests to participate in the framework is 12pm on 7 May and the DfE said it expects to award contracts by December.