02 February 2021 
Ashley Shelbrooke, HEPA and Project Specialist
Welcome to the February edition of the HEPA Digest.
You will no doubt have noted the publication of the Cabinet Office’s transforming public procurement Green Paper. You can register your place here should you wish to join the policy team behind the Green Paper to explore its contents at a series of free events throughout the month. Many firms have also produced their own summaries of the Green Paper such as Bevan Brittan, Mills & Reeve (video) and Achilles.
What do you think about the Green Paper – what does it mean for your institution and suppliers? Heads of Procurement and Finance Directors can join the conversation on the discussion boards now.
We understand that you may receive an email from the various purchasing consortia inviting you to submit your views about the Government’s Green Paper on Transforming Public Procurement. To clarify, subject to discussions with Finance Directors, Heads of Procurement, legal professionals working in universities and Heads of Administration, BUFDG incorporating HEPA may submit a separate response to the Cabinet Office consultation. This is to ensure that all views are aired and organisations feel that their unique position has been impartially represented.
With thanks to colleagues in the Cabinet Office Standards and Continuous Improvement programme we are pleased to be able to offer HEPA members the opportunity to book onto four free Masterclasses throughout February. The sessions will cover:
You can find the Masterclasses in the HEPA training calendar, and booking links are all listed on the website here. The counter-fraud and delivering value across complex projects sessions look particularly interesting, but please do feel free to book on to any which will be of benefit to you in your role.
David Miller from The Customs People will tomorrow take us through the main issues that Universities need to consider when determining if import duty is payable on the import of goods from the EU. The time to talk session will look at the rules of origin and the evidence that you will need to obtain. There is still time for you and anyone in your team to book their free place here!
Following on from tomorrow’s time to talk with David, we are excited to also offer you the following sessions running this month. Places are, as always, free to you and your team as members of BUFDG and HEPA:
We are planning a time to talk on Incoterms, hopefully to be scheduled before the Conference in March. What other topics would you like to see us cover in the series? Please do let me know and I will ensure that we get a session organised!
Time is running out for institutions to secure their ticket to our 2021 Conference.
The aforementioned Green Paper will feature in workshop 17 – Transforming Public Procurement after Brexit and Covid – on Procurement Wednesday.
On the Thursday of the Conference we are designing a HEPA workshop to demonstrate the value of procurement. We have some great case studies lined up from colleagues across the sector, and there is still room for one final institution to be involved. Please do get in touch if you would like to share the work of your team at the Conference and showcase best practise.
Following several requests due to the impact of Brexit preparations and the covid-19 pandemic, the deadline for Procurement Value Survey (PVS) submissions has been extended by two weeks until Friday 12 February.
We have a whole host of resources available to help you complete the survey – check them out here and make sure that you submit your response before the 12th if you haven’t already done so!
