Event details
Gross spending on public sector procurement was £357 billion in 2020/21 across the UK a rise of 17% from 2019/20 due to the public sector response to the pandemic. This figure equates to approximately a third of all public expenditure every year and government accounts published for 2021/22 suggest that public sector procurement will remain around these higher levels.
On the eve of the UK leaving the European Union, the Cabinet Office published the green paper, entitled Transforming Public Procurement. This green paper set out a bold and ambitious reform package which aimed to speed up and simplify the procurement processes, place value for money front and centre, generate social value and increase opportunities for small businesses, charities to innovate in public service delivery which in turn would assist greatly with the Government’s Levelling Up Agenda.
After a period of consultation with over 600 stakeholders, the Cabinet Office published its response in December 2021 before embarking on formulating legislation for Parliament. Whilst there is broad support for the majority of the proposals, there has been a rethink in certain areas with the Government responding to make the obligations even clearer by splitting and refining objectives.
This timely event, though a mixture of high-level keynotes and practical case studies will address these amendments, the key challenges in public procurement, adaptations to practices and how the general principles set out in this reform process are being met at both local and national levels.
Register