Regulatory Reform – cutting red tape to make it easier to tender

The second webinar in our series on procurement, discussed how the new reforms to public procurement will make it easier for suppliers to tender for contracts.

Procurement experts Eddie Regan and Phil Kinnell of PASS – the Procurement Advice and Support Service talked with Dawn McTaggart about how the legislation is proposing to help suppliers bring innovation to the public sector marketplace.

Leaving the European Union has allowed the UK Government to look at the current regulations and consider changes that will make public sector procurement more streamlined and efficient, measured against government targets.

These reforms will bring the single greatest change to the procurement regulations in decades. In this session, our experts look at what this will mean for your business and how you can prepare.

Why do you need to know about the public procurement rules?

Government spends some £290 billion on public procurement every year, and this spending will be leveraged to help drive the UK’s economic recovery following the pandemic and lockdown. Procurement has a role to play in achieving government aims such as opening up public contracts to more small businesses and social enterprises, innovating in public service delivery, and meeting the net zero carbon target by 2050.

With government already committed to ensuring 33% by value of its contracts go to SMEs, there is a massive opportunity for those who have never supplied to the public sector to become part of the marketplace.

What’s changing?

While it is important for you to get to grips with these new procurement changes from the outset, many of the changes will be beneficial to the supply market.

• The proposal to move from four sets of regulations to one consolidated set will certainly make it easier to understand what the rules require, and the removal of up to 350 regulations will help simplify the process.
• The creation of a single digital platform will make it easier for suppliers to tender for contracts, with just one form to fill in for all public sector work.
• There will be changes to framework agreements, and buyers will be required to publish pipelines for future work.
• New principles of public procurement will simplify procedures for suppliers, making contracts more competitive and attractive to suppliers while building in flexibility for buyers.
• There will be greater transparency in public procurement, giving suppliers the ability to question buyers’ decisions and create stronger bids for future work.

When to expect these changes

Listening to our experts, these changes won’t be seen overnight. Even with the unexpected release of the NPPS [link to last talks blog] in June, any new processes will take time to bed in and become workable. It is expected that the changes will be brought to Parliament during the next session, meaning any changes are unlikely to happen before spring 2022. Development of the Single Digital Platform itself will be a three-stage process, anticipated to take two to three years.

Top Tips

1. Educate – Read about the proposed changes. With our research indicating that only a small number of suppliers know about the proposed changes, just listening to webinars such as the Tracker Talks series can give you the edge.
2. Add – Think about your future plans and how you could give your tenders the edge. The NPPS calls for added social value; what can you do to add social, economic or environmental value?
3. Plan – The requirement to publish pipelines will help you plan your tender bids and business growth. By being aware of future commitments, you can develop your business to meet requirements.
4. Invest – By investing in market insight and your tender applications, you can create a winning formula.

Tracker and BiP Solutions are here to help you step into the market with advice on procurement policy, supporting you to find the procurement opportunities most relevant to you.

Take a look around opportunities in Tracker

Why not take a look at the latest local government, central government and education tender opportunities today? You can also find out what your competitors are winning in these areas and understand the shape and size of their frameworks and DPS opportunities, both past and present. Our free trial allows you to do just that with no obligation.

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