Contract management playbook to be developed by UK government

The plans were reported by the Business Services Association (BSA), which said it had been contacted by the Cabinet Office on the issue.

According to the BSA, the initiative “is part of ongoing efforts to enhance government contract management practices”. It said a series of working group meetings will take place to develop the playbook and that the Cabinet Office is “looking for industry input from those who have a strong interest in contract management and who are eager to share their expertise.” 

Out-Law has asked the Cabinet Office for more information about its plans and the indicative timeframe it is working to for delivering the playbook.

News of the government’s plans to develop a new contract management playbook has coincided with the publication of a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) which examined whether competition is working well in public procurement and made a series of recommendations for improvement.

The NAO’s report (54-page / 383KB PDF) identified “opportunities throughout the lifecycle of the contract to improve the effectiveness of competition”. It said, for example, that the requirements government departments are looking to be met need to be defined “sufficiently to be clear to suppliers, while leaving room for flexibility and innovation if appropriate to the contract”, and that when managing the contract, government departments need to “consider other enablers of the contract, such as sub-contractors in the supply chain or commitments the buyer must fulfil for suppliers to succeed”.

The NAO also said that risks to competition and good outcomes can arise when contracts are renewed with suppliers without a retendering exercise, and it further identified opportunities for better use of contract information “to understand how competition is working across government”, and for better quality data on contracts to be published to help “promote best practice”.

Simon Colvin of Pinsent Masons, who specialises in public sector technology contracts, said the prospect of a new contract management playbook will be welcomed by government departments and suppliers alike. He said other ‘playbooks’ developed by the government, such as the outsourcing playbook and the construction playbook, offer clear best practice guidance of practical use to contracting authorities and industry and offer a blueprint for the development of the new contract management playbook.

Colvin said: “The suite of existing playbooks provides a well-balanced view on best practice in procurement in these particular areas. But effectiveness of delivery is driven as much by use of the contract as it is by procuring and putting it in place. We welcome further guidance in this continuing challenging area. The message about ensuring the supplier succeeds is the right focus here, not looking at the contract as simply a set of ‘thumb-screws’.”

Dr Totis Kotsonis, a specialist in public procurement law at Pinsent Masons, added: “The NAO report highlights the benefits to be had by ensuring that public contracts are opened up to competition and awarded by means of transparent and fair processes. Once enacted, the Procurement Bill – with its emphasis on flexibility but also greater transparency – will provide a superb opportunity for opening up the award of public contracts to greater competition for the benefit of the public sector and taxpayers more generally.”