Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 34
34
Accepted
Departments demonstrate varying success in public procurement and supplier appointment.
Recommendation
We have many departments coming before us with varying degrees of success appointing commercial suppliers via public procurement processes and delivering effective outcomes. We have previously recommended, in our report on Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, how the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy should improve the technical scrutiny of bids during its procurements, to better assure the capability of suppliers and the practical feasibility of their proposals, particularly where a bidder is promising considerably more than others.59
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states it is already implemented through existing measures like the Sourcing Playbook, which sets out best practices for assessing market health and supplier capability during procurements.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 2.2 The Sourcing Playbook, published in 2019 and revised annually, sets out best practice on service delivery, insourcing, outsourcing, mixed economy sourcing and contracting. This includes setting out a clear expectation that contracting authorities should undertake an assessment of the health and capability of the market when deciding how to deliver a service. This enables a contracting authority to understand our markets, recognise our influence on them and design commercial strategies and contracts that promote market health, and in turn maximises value for money and service quality. Effectiveness of early market engagement is assessed as part of the commercial continuous improvement assessment framework with a masterclass programme to share best practice. These principles are supplemented by a supporting guidance note on ‘Market Management’ that outlines more detail and practical guidance on the factors to consider when making these assessments. In addition, the Cabinet Office also provides resource and guidance to contracting authorities when they undertake market health assessments.