Government's procurement record questioned

Government must do more to ensure it gets greater value for money from the £15bn-a-year it spends on procurement, according to the Commons' public accounts committee in its recent report Improving Departments' Capability to Procure Cost-effectively.

In its findings the committee's report recommends that the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) should use the authority of the Treasury to tackle departments which press ahead with procurement projects in the face of early warnings that things are going wrong.

It also believes that departments should appoint a commercial director, with an appropriate professional qualification, with responsibility for all commercial dealings with the private sector.

Chairman of the committee Edward Leigh said that there was still lots to be done to achieve the OGC's target of £3bn in efficiency savings in government procurement.

"With the OGC's support, departments had achieved £1.6bn better value from procurement over the three years to March 2003," he added. "The drive for efficiency must continue so that the taxpayer gets more in return for the £15bn-a-year spent on central government procurement, and it is quite right that the OGC's next target is much more ambitious.

"I want to see departments make better progress in developing properly professional procurement. They must ensure they do not depart from OGC procurement routes without clear justification, and that the agencies and other bodies they sponsor also follow best practice."