18 February 2021 
Ashley Shelbrooke, HEPA and Project Specialist
I am sure by now that everyone is familiar with the green paper: transforming public procurement. There is a good discussion on our FD / HoP boards on the consultation, and from talking to colleagues I know many of you have found the Cabinet Office online consultation sessions to be both informative and useful (I am signed up for Monday!) If you have not booked to attend a session then I really would recommend you do – there are still places available on 3 and 8 March and you can secure your slot here.
Public Sector procurement expert Colin Cram has written a thought provoking opinion piece for CIPS which you can read here where he addresses the topic of “what's wrong with the procurement green paper?”
Cram sees the paper as proposing incremental changes rather than transformation and notes some areas which he believes should be accelerated to be delivered quickly, such as making it easier to bar poorly performing suppliers from obtaining public sector contracts, extending the use of dynamic purchasing systems and utilising tribunals, rather than courts, to adjudicate contracting disputes.
Some interesting omissions are highlighted by Cram such as harmonisation of standing orders for contracts below threshold, supply chain and market management and – in Cram’s view – the fragmented approach to the management of public sector procurement.
What do you think? Head over to the discussion boards to have your say!
