NEW government plans to transform procurement by providing better value for money and helping small businesses have been published in a green paper.
Made in Britain members now have the opportunity to provide feedback on the green paper, which can be downloaded here. The consultation questions are in a separate document here. Answers to these questions and other points should be emailed to procurement.reform@cabinetoffice.gov.uk before 11.45pm on 10 March 2021.
The green paper, tilted Transforming public procurement, will, according to the Cabinet Office, set out long-planned changes to UK’s procurement rules, putting value for money and transparency at the heart of the new approach. Plans will cut red tape, reduce bureaucracy and help unleash wider social benefits from public money spent on procurement. New rules for lower value contracts will allow more UK based SMEs to win government business, according to the government website.
Cabinet Office minister, Lord Agnew (left), said, “The measures outlined will transform the current outdated system with new rules, providing flexibility to the public sector and less burden on business. These long-standing plans have been developed with international procurement specialists and will help unleash innovation across the country and provide a fairer system for small businesses.”
Proposed changes to the rules include:
- Removing over 300 complex regulations, to create a single uniform rulebook.
- Overhauling inflexible and complex procedures, replacing them with three simple modern procedures. This will allow more freedom for suppliers and the public sector to work together and innovate.
- Allowing buyers to include wider social benefits of the supplier, such as economic, social and environmental factors, when assessing who to award a contract to, while also still considering value for money.
- Giving buyers the power to properly take account of a bidder’s past performance, allowing them to exclude suppliers who have failed to deliver in the past.
- A new unit to oversee public procurement with powers to improve commercial skills of public sector contractors.
- A single digital platform for registering contracts, improving transparency and making life significantly simpler for business.
By Made in Britain 3 years ago | By Made in Britain