CECA has welcomed the publication of new rules for public sector outsourcing by HM Government.
The Outsourcing Playbook, published today by The Government Commercial Function, sets out new expectations that all central government departments will publish their commercial pipelines.
From now on, all outsourcing projects will conduct market health and capability assessments, Project Validation Reviews at an early stage, undergo ‘Make versus Buy’ assessments, and will follow the ‘Should Cost Model.’ Furthermore, where a service is being outsourced for the first time, there is now a presumption that a pilot should be run prior to roll-out.
Commenting, Director of External Affairs for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Marie-Claude Hemming said: “Following the collapse of Carillion last year, it is welcome that the Government has listened and is implementing important changes that will optimise the procurement of public projects by the private sector in future.
“In particular, we welcome the recognition that the procurement process is best undertaken by close co-operation between government and industry at the earliest possible stage.
“Our members require forward visibility of projects to deliver schemes on time and on budget, so the expectation that all government departments will publish their commercial pipelines in future will be particularly welcome.
“At the same time, we call on government to move away from evaluating projects solely on price, and towards a new model that measures the social benefits of different types of infrastructure schemes to support business cases for future investment.
“By optimising the procurement process and ensuring close co-operation between government and industry, these reforms have the potential to future-proof our sector and ensure our members can continue to deliver the infrastructure businesses and communities rely upon across the UK.”
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