Category Archives: procurement

The language of the market has distorted strategic commissioning Procurement

The language of the market has distorted strategic commissioning Procurement and contracting with the VCS is an option, but should never be the default choice While preparing to speak at a conference on the third sector and commissioning this week, I was struck by the extent to which practitioners and policymakers appear to have swallowed… Read More...

Time for an overhaul of public audit

The crisis in company audit has knock on consequences for public audit – and now is a good time to review the remit of the National Audit Office, say John Tizard and David Walker Sir John Kingman hit the Financial Reporting Council hard in his report on the professional watchdog a couple of months ago. His… Read More...

Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value

In this blog, John Tizard, co-author of our latest report Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value, introduces some key issues and arguments. This is part of our series on public procurement – find out more here. The public sector in Wales spends over £6bn per year on the procurement of services, works and goods.… Read More...

The public must be assured its money is being well spent

As the public faces higher taxes, fundamental revisions are needed to public audit, argue John Tizard and David Walker. At a time of corrosive mistrust in parliament and public affairs, the National Audit Office stands solid. Under Amyas Morse it enjoys near mythical status as an honest and rigorous analyst of how public money is spent.… Read More...

Carillion – a year on, and much still remains to be done

A year ago, the construction and outsourcing company Carillion collapsed, leaving unbuilt buildings and hospitals, public services (including school meals) undelivered, substantial job losses from the company and across its supply chain, and many small businesses bankrupt. Plus the tax payer has had to find £150m to pay the costs of the company’s failure and… Read More...

Festive public procurement crackers

Even public sector procurement officials will be taking some time off over the next couple of weeks to sit around their Christmas trees, perhaps with a glass in their hands. Like all public sector officials, they deserve a rest and time to recharge. I hope that there will be lots of rest, good food and… Read More...

Prompt payments matter

Successive governments have implored the public sector to ensure that they pay suppliers – especially smaller companies, charities and social enterprises – promptly. However, almost daily there are reports of such suppliers not being paid in accordance with government guidance or contract conditions. Delays can be many weeks and sometimes months. These delays have serious… Read More...

Why ‘good’ consultation is key

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A responsible government would pause and review outsourcing – and ideally stop it

Only a matter of a few months after the collapse of Carillion and the resultant mayhem and following a sleuth of public service outsourcing failure, the Cabinet Office Minister, David Lidington, has announced that the Government will press ahead with more outsourcing. This is another example of government ignoring evidence and indeed not even trying… Read More...

Time for a public service renaissance

Let’s end the commodification of our public services and start valuing them as public goods that serve the interest of society, argues John Tizard. Discourse about our public services all too often fails to appreciate, let alone value, their societal, communal and economic importance. This failure commonly leads to services – even health, education and policing – being regarded as commodities and treated… Read More...