1.19 Strong procurement skills are vital for delivering quality investment on time and in a way that secures value for money for the public sector. It is important that authorities have the capacity and the support needed to pursue both conventional procurement and PFI effectively. PFI requires relevant expertise - like other large and complex procurements - because it involves long-term options appraisal, significant use of specialist advisers and what can be complex contract negotiations reflecting the Government's approach to risk sharing. The steps that the Government has already taken to raise the skills level across public procurement are set out in Chapter 5.
1.20 The Government has therefore already introduced a number of measures to support the public sector in its role as a client in PFI and other procurement. To ensure that strong procurement skills are developed across the public sector, the Government has established Partnerships UK. Partnerships UK is a public private partnership whose principal objective is to support all parts of the public sector, including the devolved administrations, by providing specialist procurement expertise. Procuring authorities are able to call upon Partnerships UK to help them identify and remove obstacles to the successful and timely implementation of particular projects. The Office of Government Commerce has also introduced the Gateway process as a performance management tool to ensure successful delivery. The Gateway process provides the framework for a rigorous assessment of the deliverability of projects, including PFI schemes, throughout the procurement process. In this way it helps ensure that any potential problems in the procurement process can be identified and addressed at an early stage. These measures are outlined in more detail in Chapter 5
1.21 In recognition of the particular needs of local authorities, who may only be engaged in 'one-off' procurements the Public Private Partnership Programme (4Ps) was established. This provides support to local authorities through the provision of advice and guidance notes on PFI projects and is working with the Government to increase the standardisation of local authority contracts. The Government also introduced the Project Review Group to review the progress of local authority projects so that best practice can be shared more effectively.
1.22 The Government is also committed to ensuring that bid costs for both private and public sectors are kept as low as possible, and that the PFI procurement process runs smoothly and without delay. High costs or long delays in the PFI bidding process slow delivery and impact on value for money for the public sector and, if unchecked, may reduce competition for PFI projects. Similarly, high bid costs may influence the returns sought by the private sector from PFI projects. Improving the public sector's ability to procure PFI projects plays a key part in helping reduce bid costs and deliver more effective projects. The importance of partnership between the public and private sectors in PFI procurement is highlighted in paragraphs 5.27 to 5.35.