2.7 Government departments are responsible for buying the goods and services they need to carry out their business efficiently and effectively. Accounting officers, usually the operational heads of departments and other public organisations, are accountable to Parliament for delivering value for money from their departments' use of financial resources, including procurement. As well as having the right quality of procurement professionals, to maximise the effectiveness of their procurement functions in delivering the Government's objectives, public organisations will:
• give a clear direction from the top about the importance they attach to procurement in delivering departmental objectives;
• have a clear procurement framework, aligned with OGC best practice, setting out the standards and processes the department will adhere to in their procurement operations;
• ensure that procurement professionals are brought in at the earliest stages of projects, where their skills and knowledge are likely to have most impact;
• collaborate with cross-government procurement initiatives, such as acting as a single purchaser, minimum standards and data collection; and
• work within a flexible GPS structure, cooperating where resources and expertise need to be deployed on the most important or complex projects.
2.8 Procurement capability reviews will be piloted in early 2007 and rolled out across central government during the year. These will assess how far procurement in central government meets the demanding standards required to deliver value for money now and in the future. The reviews will involve the deployment of a small team of high quality experts engaging intensively with departments over a short period to assess their current operating capability within their procurement functions. Reports and departmental action plans, following the reviews, will be made public.