National Procurement Policy Statement - NPPS

 The new National Procurement Policy Statement has been published and I will be briefly discussing it at The Procurement Act Live! at the NEC on Thursday 27th February 2025.

Helpfully the NPPS was published about an hour after I had submitted my presentation for formatting (I'm not bitter...) but at least I have been able to update it appropriately.

The key element as I seem them are...

Kickstart Economic Growth

    Opportunities for SMEs (PPN 001 (2025)

    High quality jobs

    Encouraging Innovation

Make Britain a Green Energy superpower

    Accelerating to NetZero

Take back our streets

Break down barriers to opportunity

    Skills gaps

    Removing barriers to entry for young people and under represented groups

Build a NHS fit for the future

The NPPS is of course not QUITE National, as Scotland is not taking part in the PA2023 (yet), and Wales and Northern Ireland have some devolved procurement arrangements.  But nice to know the priorities.

Of the 5 elements I am not convinced that 2 really fit into Procurement Policy (I'm all in favour of taking back our streets, but is this a procurement priority?  And likewise I am a strong believer in [and patient of] the NHS, but surely that point is a government priority not a procurement priority (what is, say, MOD procurement [which is in the news at the moment] going to do to deliver improvements in the NHS?).  Those seem more like government priorities rather than procurement issues.

Of the 3 remaining, they all seem appropriate - but largely reminiscent of the original NPPS from June 2021 under a different administration.

    - Creating new businesses, new jobs and new skills in the UK

    - Tackling climate change and reducing waste 

    - Improving supplier diversity, innovation and resilience.

But that is not a bad thing as these are key challenges and knotty problems.

Hope to see you at NEC to discuss them in more detail (at the seminar or on the BIP Solutions stand)

Happy Procurement Act 2025 Go-Live Day

 Happy Procurement Act 2025 Go-Live Day to all those who celebrate....  on Monday 24th February 2025.

Supplier registrations on the new Central Digital Platform go live now (Monday) though I think I might leave it a day or two to avoid the rush.

You might even wait until after you have visited The Procurement Act Live at the NEC on Thursday 27th Feb 2025 - where I shall be presenting 5 short seminars but more importantly there will be speakers from Cabinet Office and loads of stalls, stands and seminars.

Details are here

Hope to see you there

Procurement Act 2023 - the new Central Digital Platform

 A little bit more information from the government about the new Central Digital Platform coming in with the Procurement Act 2023 from 24th February 2025.

It confirms that the CDP will be built on the existing Find a Tender Service (FTS) platform.  We were expecting (hoping?) that this would mean that existing registrations would just be ported over into the new system.

Sadly, the new information clarifies (see below) that this is not going to be the case and that Buyers and Sellers will need to re-register.  Buyers should be able to register from end of January, and Sellers after that (sellers don't actually need to be registered until there are tenders to bid for - so after 24th Feb - but I am sure many people will want to get ahead of the game).

My friends at Delta e-sourcing (part of BIP Solutions) have shown that their systems are ready for the go-live and to fit into the new system.

I am presenting at The Procurement Act Live on 27th Feb 2025 at the NEC, so that will be a great opportunity for people to see what is going on and ask questions (to the Cabinet Office rather than just me!)

Here is the relevant text:

If I am already registered on Find a Tender, will I need to re-register?

Yes, you will need to re-register and enter your organisation information. We will provide comprehensive guidance to help you do this closer to 24 February 2025.

Full details are here.

The Procurement Act Live - NEC - 27th February 2025

 The Procurement Act has been delayed from October 2024 to 24th February 2025 - and just 3 days later we shall be running a live event at the NEC discussing the PA2023 and how well it is going.

Well, maybe how well it is going to go...

I shall be running a handful of short sessions, and be around on the day.  I will also be hoping to learn from the panolpy of other presenters.

Did I mention that it is free if you are public sector or VCSE?

Hope to see you there.

Full details (which are still developing) are here.