Procurement at a Crossroads

This week’s NFB Principal Contractors’ Group Conference has been really interesting – Chaired by Roger Black MBE (an entertaining, if not entirely Construction-focused speaker); keynote by Paul Morrell (the feeling amongst those I spoke to was that his will be hard steel-toe-capped boots to fill when he steps down from his post next month) and a speech from nubie Chloe Smith MP (Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office). These were just a few of the distinguished presenters. And to avoid writing a who’s who of key figures in construction, I won’t name any of the others.

'central government has no control over Local Authorities'

If there’s one thing I took on board from the conference, it was the point made recurrently by the presenters: that central government has no control over Local Authorities. The theme of the conference was Procurement, with the NFB launching their ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’ Report, which the title of this blog quotes. One of the more striking findings was that over 40% of respondents to their survey spend a month each year completing tenders. The government has already attempted to reduce the burden of procurement on small businesses by introducing PAS 91, the ‘standard PQQ’. But although its use in central government is mandatory, central government has no power to force local authorities to use it. And so it appears that they don’t. One interviewee reportedly “saw barriers to PAS 91 from the procurement executives within local government who used the uniqueness of the PQQ process as a way of justifying their job”.  So maybe this is one reason why "Use [of PAS 91] at the local authority level,.. is so low as to not be measurable."  So what’s the answer? Your comments please…

To contact the author of this blog email vicky.hutchinson@room4consulting.co.uk