It is estimated that Kier will be carrying out over 2,500 projects valued under £500,000 and over 350 projects valued between £500,000 and £2m.

Projects will include refurbishment and new build works on every public sector building type including schools, town halls, leisure and community buildings, police and fire stations. The framework can be accessed by any public body.

Scape is a local authority controlled company, its remit being to bring economy and efficiency to the whole building process – including for new buildings and refurbishment projects – and it achieves this through the development of standard designs and strategic procurement arrangements.

The UK-wide projects, due to start before the end of the year, will be delivered through Kier’s regional businesses which form a strategically placed network of locally based and managed offices throughout the UK.

Kier Group chief executive Paul Sheffield said: “We are delighted to have been selected as Scape’s delivery partner for our unique approach.

“Delivering through our nationwide network of local offices means we can create work for local SMEs who in turn can offer local employment and apprenticeship opportunities.

“This, coupled with our national buying power and resources, will ensure that our local authority clients get value for money on all our Scape Minor Works projects, invigorating local economies, benefitting the SME supply chain and the local communities where we work.”

Mark Robinson, chief executive officer at Scape added: “This is Scape’s first £1bn framework and the only one in the UK to deliver a national offering for projects up to £2m.

“At a very challenging time for public sector budgets this framework has been created to help drive down building procurement costs to help maximise savings.”