Public Procurement... after the Election?
Whichever of the major parties takes power after next months election., efficient procurement and contract management is going to be a key focus...
In this brief article, Supply Management summarise how the key parties might respond to the need to reduce the budget deficit, as all the major parties have promided to do.....
A Cabinet Office report published after the autumn statement said there was potential for savings of £15 to £20 billion in 2019/20 through increased uptake of digital services, selling off government property, tackling fraud and expanding the work of the Crown Commercial Service (CCS).Bill Crothers, the government’s chief commercial officer, says he has an “aspiration” that CCS take on £10 billion of central government spend over the next five years, up from £3 billion currently. He says the big challenges are around capability, becoming a better customer and better supplier performance.“My reading would be that driving commercial competence, efficiency, sensible procurement and contract management will be common whatever government it is,” he says.
This appears to be borne out by Labour’s task force on public procurement, which appears to build on the work of the Cabinet Office. It recommends a “professionally resourced procurement and contract management function within the civil service” and says “a Labour government’s approach to public procurement needs to be strategic rather than ad hoc”. It includes targets for SME spend and the promotion of social value in tendering. The party has also carried out a “zero-based review” of public spending, referred to by Miliband, which says at least £172 million a year can be saved by forcing police forces to purchase jointly and more than half a billion pounds could be saved through greater purchasing collaboration by councils.In another report Labour says: “While the CCS is expected to achieve efficiencies in terms of items of common repetitive spend, the emerging view from Whitehall is that its existence will not help to get the professionalisation of department’s procurement in order.” .....to read the full article in Supply Management
This appears to be borne out by Labour’s task force on public procurement, which appears to build on the work of the Cabinet Office. It recommends a “professionally resourced procurement and contract management function within the civil service” and says “a Labour government’s approach to public procurement needs to be strategic rather than ad hoc”. It includes targets for SME spend and the promotion of social value in tendering. The party has also carried out a “zero-based review” of public spending, referred to by Miliband, which says at least £172 million a year can be saved by forcing police forces to purchase jointly and more than half a billion pounds could be saved through greater purchasing collaboration by councils.In another report Labour says: “While the CCS is expected to achieve efficiencies in terms of items of common repetitive spend, the emerging view from Whitehall is that its existence will not help to get the professionalisation of department’s procurement in order.” .....to read the full article in Supply Management