9. Conclusion: Public service markets are becoming more difficult for government to manage.
10. Recommendation: Led by the Cabinet Office, departments must take concerted action to develop competitive markets for public services. Government must use its contractual powers to intervene in market consolidation - so that taxpayers and public service users benefit from the innovation and competition a thriving market can offer.
11. Recommendation: All government contracts should include robust sanctions for underperformance or weak control which should be applied rigorously when performance falls short, and performance on previous contracts must always be taken into account when awarding new work.
12. Recommendation: The Cabinet Office should look at the barriers to SMEs joining markets and develop a plan to address each barrier. Departments should be required to demonstrate that they have considered disaggregated models for each major contract