The govt has published its new procurement green paper, setting out proposals for post-Brexit procurement in the UK.

A short thread with a few thoughts...

1) Getting procurement right is incredibly important. It accounts for around a third of total government spending. And as we've seen during the pandemic, billions can be wasted if done poorly

2) Govt proposes to simplify procurement regulations, reducing number of procurement procedures from 7 to 3. Greater simplicity and flexibility could be beneficial for both buyers and suppliers. BUT changing the regulations doesn't guarantee a bonanza of procurement innovation

3) It's easy to blame 'bureaucratic' EU regs for poor procurement practice but many public bodies don't take advantage of existing flexibilities. And none of the key problems @instituteforgov has identified with procurement are due to regulations https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/government-outsourcing-reform-WEB_0.pdf

4) If govt wants to see real change in procurement practice then it needs to invest in training and support for public bodies. The Cabinet Office and commercial function already have some high quality training programmes. These should be expanded massively https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/carillion-two-years-on.pdf

5) The govt has made a commitment to greater transparency. Its analysis of the problem is spot on and I like proposals to publish more info with award notices, require use of OCDS, and to create a new central platform

The proposals to increase transparency are hugely welcome and their implementation would help avoid many of the problems with opaque processes, failures to publish and favouritism towards well connected suppliers that we’ve seen during the pandemic.

The green paper covers many of the transparency recommendations @instituteforgov made two years ago but it could go further. Most critically, I'd like to see far greater transparency of supply chains https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/government-procurement

6) There are lot of other interesting proposals in the green paper, including: taking account of supplier past performance, speeding up challenges to procurement decisions and publishing all contract amendments. Do have a read and respond to the consultation which closes 10 March

Government procurement green paper published here - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-plans-set-out-to-transform-procurement-providing-more-value-for-money-and-benefitting-small-business

Good thread from Gavin on some of the key proposals in the govt's procurement green paper https://twitter.com/GavinHayman_GW/status/1338800909359472640?s=20