Baxall Construction, Kier, Morgan Sindall and WW Martin secured spots on the panel, which will be used by 12 district councils and 305 parish/town councils to procure work.

Its scope covers procurement and delivery of significant public new builds, extensions, refurbishments and alterations mainly for schools but also building work to any property including housing.

The four-year deal comes into force next month for project builds upwards of £1m.

Work will be allocated on a rotation basis, with the option for clients to run a mini-competition for jobs, if required.

There are nearly 600 schools in Kent, which is England’s most populous non-metropolitan county with a population of over 1.8m.