The Government is committed to supplier competition in its £259 billion procurement spending, but could deliver significant savings by better understanding how departments use competition in practice.
The Committee’s recent reports on Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts and Local auditor reporting on local government in England highlighted the importance of using competitive procurement where possible, and the importance of healthy markets with sufficient capacity and competitors.
The Committee’s reports on procurement relating to the COVID-19 pandemic also provide lessons for government on the risks of non-competitive tenders.
The National Audit Office’s report on competition in public procurement found that the Government cannot show how well competition is working, and that the structures to encourage and support the use of competition are not all working as intended.
Based on the NAO’s report, the Committee will hear from senior Government officials, including Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary Sir Alex Chisholm, on subjects including whether the mechanisms are in place for the Government to understand and encourage competition in public procurement, and how Government departments can make their use of competition more effective.
If you have evidence on this issue, please submit it here by 23:59 on Sunday 8 October 2023.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere.