You do not have a JavaScript enabled browser, please use the links below.

Central Civil Government Procurement

‘ Making a Difference’ - Reducing Bureaucracy in Central Civil Government Procurement

Making a Difference - Reducing Bureaucracy in Central Civil Government Procurement (PDF 373kb) published on 15 December 2003, is a joint project between the Regulatory Impact Unit’s Public Sector Team (PST) in the Cabinet Office and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC)

Purpose of the project
Building on past and current work within Government, the project has sought to deliver practical measures to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and burdens within central civil procurement, so that the procurement of services and goods can be conducted more efficiently - thus reducing costs and achieving better outcomes.

Scope of the project
The report concentrates, in line with OGC’s remit, on the bureaucracy encountered by public and private stakeholders involved in procurement projects in central civil government departments and their agencies. The report does not look at procurements undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the National Health Service (NHS) or Local Authorities.

Stakeholder Involvement
As with all our projects meetings were held with a wide range of stakeholders including project managers, procurement specialists, suppliers and contractors, consulting organisations and professional bodies. A full list of participants can be found in Annex 1 of the report.

The project team wishes to thank all participants who gave up their time to talk to us. The issues they raised and the solutions they suggested informed the development of the project.

Key project outcomes
The major benefits, to be realized through the successful implementation of the actions within the report, include:

- Shorter procurement timescales, through:

• focussing on need to reduce procurement costs - making the government marketplace more attractive to suppliers.

- Greater standardisation and consistency, through: avoiding the need for repeated form-filling;

• reducing duplication of work by use of standard contract clauses, and reducing lengthy contract negotiations; and
• increasing the efficiency of the procurement of framework contracts.

- Getting the best from consultants and advisors, through: improving decision-making by selecting and managing consultants effectively; and

• using consultants only when necessary, leading to an incentive to improve in-house commercial expertise.

- Improved communication with the market, through: engaging in early dialogue with suppliers on requirements and proposed procurement routes, leading to better understanding and more efficient and effective procurement; and

• wider advertising of contract opportunities to foster more effective competition.

- Improved collaboration across central government, through: making accurate information on expenditure available throughout government; and

• increasing the strategic focus of collaborative procurement activity.
  

Next Steps

Responsibility for delivery rest with the lead officials within departments, OGC and other relevant stakeholders. The PST will continue to work with OGC to monitor progress on delivery.

For further enquires or information please contact Frances Stevens on 020 7276 2164 or email frances.stevens@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk