What? By unveiling a package of measures the government has appealed to public-sector procurement workers to work more closely with UK IT suppliers in order to give firms in the country the best possible chance of securing contracts with central and local authorities.
So What? In a speech to a supplier procurement conference, minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, unveiled a package of measures he claimed will revolutionise the way government buys from the private sector. He reportedly labelled the public sector's current way of procuring IT products as a "speed dating approach" holding UK businesses at arms length rather than nurturing long term relationships. A blend of over interpretation of current EU procurement law, fears of bias in favour of UK firms and cost to suppliers of bidding for work has combined to alienate UK business in the procurement process. He added that UK government needed to learn from its European neighbours such as Germany and France where procurement costs up to half as much as in the UK.
He stated that:
"In the same 12-month period British companies won £432m of EU contracts, French firms won £911m and German firms £3,600m. The UK awards three per cent of public procurement to foreign suppliers, compared to 1.9 per cent in Germany and 1.5 per cent in France....It's not because France and Germany break any rules. They don't. The difference is the governments of these countries work closely with domestic firms so they are geared up to win contracts at home and abroad."
Under the package:
- £50bn of potential business will be published online;
- it will be up to 40 percent faster to do business with government;
- large contracts may be broken up and prime contractors will be encouraged to do more to allow SME's to access the value of procurement;
- the government will collaborate with businesses at a much earlier stage in the procurement process so they don't find themselves excluded from opportunities; and
- the government will also negotiate in the EU for a radical simplification of law.
This is a welcome change to the public sector's risk averse approach to procurement which should stimulate growth among UK IT suppliers.
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