Morning, Wednesday, 23rd April 2025
Online
This conference will focus on next steps for public procurement reform in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It will be an opportunity for stakeholders and policymakers to assess priorities emerging in the early implementation of the Procurement Act 2023, following it coming into effect in February 2025, including how public bodies and suppliers are adapting to the new rules and integrating top-level goals set out in the recently published National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS).
Sessions in the agenda will consider what will be needed for legislation to effectively support widened competition for contracts, greater transparency and simplicity for bidders, and improved oversight and evaluation of procurement processes.
With a focus on implications of the new framework, delegates will assess issues that might need to be addressed for councils, public bodies and suppliers, including SMEs. Areas for discussion include concerns around value for money, digital procurement, procurement fraud, and the integration of social value and employment rights into procurement processes.
Delegates will consider latest thinking on strategies for achieving cross-system skills adequacy around contract tendering and management from both buyers and suppliers, as well as assessing support offered by the Government through initiatives such as the Transforming Public Procurement programme.
While exploring priorities for the planned Procurement Review Unit, we also expect discussion on enhancing transparency and the role of the new Central Digital Platform, and next steps for addressing procurement fraud and anti-competitive practices, including the work of the Competition and Markets Authority.
The agenda also examines the role of the NPPS, which sets out five top-level public procurement priorities and outlines how the Procurement Act can align with government missions and wider national policy objectives, such as net zero and economic growth, alongside the establishment of the new Office for Value for Money, and new targets to reduce the number of external consultants and bring more private expertise into government departments.
Areas for discussion include leveraging public procurement to support priority sectors within the new Industrial Strategy, using public procurement to shape new AI markets in line with the AI Opportunities Action Plan, commitments in both the Plan to Make Work Pay and the Employment Rights Bill, and potential implications of the recently published English Devolution White Paper.
We are pleased to be able to include keynote sessions with: Lindsay Maguire, Deputy Director for the Implementation of Procurement Reform, Cabinet Office; Matthew Rees, Director, NAO; Peter Schofield, Head, Integrated Commissioning and Procurement, Manchester City Council; Katharine Sutton, Chief Executive, Aspire Community Works; Guy Battle, CEO, Social Value Portal; and Jared Wright, Senior Analyst, Government Innovation, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- implementation: early indications following the Procurement Act 2023 going live - assessing implications for public bodies - impacts on procurement processes - compliance issues
- value for money: simplifying procurement processes - leveraging the Central Digital Platform - best practice in digital procurement and digitalising public services - improving oversight mechanisms - role of the Office for Value for Money
- skills development: strategies for enhancing procurement capabilities - promoting best practice - support from government initiatives
- social value: integration into procurement - contractual obligations and challenges - impact on employment standards - implications of the Employment Rights Bill
- modern slavery: tackling slavery and human trafficking in supply chains - implications of NHS Procurement Regulations 2024 - strategies for ethical best practice
- SMEs: addressing barriers for small businesses - growing procurement spend on SME goods and services - options for flexible tendering procedures - fair payment practices
- procurement fraud: vulnerabilities to anti-competitive behaviour - role of CMA and Public Sector Fraud Authority - opportunities for AI and new technology in countering fraud
- procurement models: assessing insourcing and outsourcing - lessons from prominent business collapses - impacts on public service delivery
- national policy: examining the NPPS top-level objectives - integrating procurement with government objectives - alignment with net zero and economic growth
- industrial strategy: leveraging procurement to support priority areas and boost growth sectors - alignment with Invest 2035 and the AI Opportunities Action Plan - linking procurement to industrial missions
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those due to attend include officials from Dstl; DESNZ; DBT; DfT; IPO; CCS; CMA; Isle of Man Government; and the Welsh Government.
