Government and CBI meet with industry to discuss improvements in contracting for public services
2 May 2014 03:54 PM
A roundtable discussion, co-chaired by Francis
Maude and CBI Director John Cridland, discussed the government’s
commercial reforms.
The
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, and the Director General of the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI), John Cridland, yesterday co-chaired a
roundtable discussion of senior industry representatives to explore how to
develop the government’s commercial reforms.
Since 2010, the government has been working to improve
commercial efficiency and increase commercial capability across Whitehall. Its
commercial reforms saved the taxpayer £3.8 billion in 2012 to 2013
alone.
The
government is determined to build on its commercial reforms to date, and used
the session to explore how it will work better with businesses to drive further
improvements in public services and improved value for taxpayers.
The CBI and the businesses present welcomed the messages and
committed to a package of collaborative measures to deliver this over the
medium term including a working group with the CBI, Government Chief
Procurement Officer Bill Crothers, HM Treasury, chair of
the CBI Public Services Strategy Board Ruby McGregor Smith, and
senior business leaders.
A
key aspect of this shift will also build on the government’s
world-leading transparency record by working collaboratively with business to
foster greater openness and trust between government and its suppliers. It is
important to business of all sizes that government gets this right and listens
to their views. Discussion through events such as yesterday’s roundtable
will help ensure this.
Government and industry, with the CBI and
other bodies, will continue to work together to deliver improvements in
contracting. The government and the CBI have agreed to develop a
joint set of principles to make outsourced public services more transparent and
increase openness between government and its suppliers.
Topics discussed at yesterday’s roundtable
include:
- how
government can continue to deliver savings for taxpayers
- the
importance of a vibrant and competitive market, the programme of commercial
reform
- how
the government and suppliers continue to improve commercial
transparency
Potential measures discussed included:
- government’s use of open book
arrangements
- the
use of a new model services contract
- how
taxpayers can get better information on outsourced public
services
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude,
said:
As
part of our long-term economic plan, we are transforming the way government
works with its suppliers. In 2012 to 2013 we saved taxpayers £3.8 billion
through our procurement reforms but we want to go further. Today’s
meeting highlighted that both government and the CBI are in broad
agreement about what we need to do to provide more transparency. We have
already made good progress on this important agenda and will work closely with
industry as we go even further.
Director General of the CBI, John Cridland,
said:
Public services businesses operate in an industry that
demands close public scrutiny, which is why we have proposed a range of
transparency measures including the online publication of contracts, open book
accounting and the extension of the National Audit Office’s
remit.
We
will be working closely with the government to deliver on our transparency
proposals and ultimately towards delivering better public services which will
save the taxpayer money.
Chief Executive of Mitie Group and Chair of
the CBI’s Public Services Strategy Board, Ruby McGregor Smith,
said:
Every business that delivers public services needs to do
more to build a trusting relationship with the public, and greater transparency
is key to this. Mitie and other CBI public services businesses are
committed to working with the government to support this important
agenda.
Government Chief Procurement Officer, Bill Crothers,
said:
We
are committed to continuing to improve how we engage with bidders, run
procurements, and manage contracts, as well as build strong relationships with
our suppliers. The support of the CBI and industry in working with us
to deliver these improvements is very positive and warmly
welcomed.
Notes to editors
-
Since 2011 it has been a requirement for all central
government contracts over £10,000 to be published on Contracts Finder. To date 19,000 contracts have been
published.
-
The Crown
Commercial Service (CCS) will deliver a complete commercial service
for government departments, providing top industry expertise and fully managed
procurement services. The new scope moves away from frameworks and towards a
fully managed end to end service. With both a delivery and an advisory
capability, CCS will work with departments and wider public sector
organisations to help them achieve maximum value for the taxpayer from every
commercial relationship.
- CBI published a report on 5 March 2014 that made a
number of recommendations to increase the transparency of government
contracts:
- in every contract negotiation, contractors and their
customers should discuss how to release information proactively and in response
to public enquiries
- all government contracts should be published online, as
long as the customer is happy for this to happen; when a contract is in any way
redacted, there should be a clear explanation of why this has been done and at
whose request
- in every contract negotiation, there should be a
presumption in favour of open book accounting
- the National Audit Office should be able to audit
government contracts with the private sector
- The
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report, Contracting Out Public
Services to the Private Sector, with a number of similar
recommendations on 14 March 2014. The government’s formal response to
the PAC will be published in due course.