Firms are putting the finishing touches to their bids for a £1.5bn framework to look after the parliamentary estate.

Bidders have until 18 December to return tenders for the work which has been broken down into four lots.

The biggest is for jobs worth £30m and over with Wates, Kier, Sir Robert McAlpine and Lendlease all believed to be looking at working up bids for this lot.

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The work will cover the Parliamentary estate

Lot 2 is for M&E work between £2.5m and £30m while the third lot is for heritage jobs worth up to £30m. The final lot is for jobs, including building, M&E and fit out schemes, with a value of up to £2.5m.

The seven year deal is expected to start in April and run until August 2032.

The new framework will replace the current Mechanical, Electrical, Public health and Fabric Safety deal which runs out in the middle of March.

Wates and McAlpine are separately bidding the £95m job to refurbish Parliament’s Victoria Tower.

A winner is due to be announced by the end of the year with work starting next spring, although much of the initial phase will involve wrapping the tower in scaffolding. The job is expected to take six years to complete.