1 extend the current programme of collaborative procurement to cover additional categories of common spend. In the first instance this should include construction, facilities management and food;
2 improve the quality of management information on procurement spend across the public sector to ensure that common standards and much increased transparency are implemented;
3 improve access to better deals for local service providers across the wider public sector by working with and through Professional Buying Organisations (PBOs) in a more regulated manner. This will incorporate sharing management information across PBOs, sharing the best framework agreements and developing common, transparent business models and governance across PBOs; and
4 increase uptake of collaboration (through PBOs or other collaborative strategies) on common categories of goods and services within the scope of the programme: 80 per cent of all available spend2 in central government (including NDPBs and agencies) and 50 per cent in the wider public sector, by 2010-11. This should be achieved by:
• more focused marketing of available deals;
• better use of existing investments in eProcurement systems;
• regular reporting to Ministers on the value derived from collaborative procurement and ensuring value for money and collaboration form key components of skills and capability development of procurement professionals across government;
• ensuring accounting officers in central government departments hold commercial functions across department families to account for delivering value for money through increased collaboration, and should monitor progress towards achieving this across their departmental family;
• ensuring accounting officers give commercial directors in central government departments increased powers to coordinate delivery of the collaborative agenda throughout departmental families, including NDPBs and executive agencies; and
• ensuring public sector organisations can keep any collaborative procurement efficiency savings they deliver in excess of what they need to live within their budgets and incentivising good performance through not penalising departmental success against collaborative procurement targets.
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2 In this report, "available spend" is categorised as spend not locked into existing procurement contracts.