28. Recommendation: Government needs to step up its skill development within departments so that contracts are specified better from the outset (Paragraph 95)
29. Recommendation: We concur with their recommendation that the Cabinet Office establish a contracting centre of excellence that can collect best practice and learning and disseminate it across the wider public sector including the NHS and local government. (Paragraph 100)
30. The Government needs to develop more robust challenge and scrutiny of contracts before they are let. We recognise there is progress here, but there are still too many contracts which do not collapse but still deliver poor services to the user. (Paragraph 101)
31. The Cabinet Office lacks sufficient leverage with other Departments. Departments continue to act in separate silos, failing to share information or adopt the appropriate multidisciplinary teams that combine frontline knowledge, commercial skills and project management. (Paragraph 102)
32. Recommendation: Cabinet Office should ensure Departments adhere to Cabinet Office guidance and are required to respond to Cabinet Office challenge for large procurements. Where Departments want to deviate from Cabinet Office guidance, they should write to Cabinet Office ahead of opening a tender, setting out their justifications for that deviation. (Paragraph 103)