The London Practice Forum and Project Compass – a community interest company that campaigns for better public procurement – have co-authored a formal response to the Government’s Green Paper on procurement reform, which was published on 15 December 2020.
We broadly welcome the proposals outlined in the green paper, especially the focus on achieving social value and recognising the importance of long-term outcomes in the assessment of tender submissions.
We recognise, however, that many of these recommendations are already possible under the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and that rather than simple legislative reform, a profound shift in culture and understanding is necessary to ensure that these ambitions are realised. Specific guidance must be provided on, for example, more intelligent methods of scoring quality and price, and submission requirements and qualification criteria must be commensurate with the scale of service being commissioned.
You can view the full Project Compass / LPF response below.