There is continuing debate about using government procurement to strengthen UK manufacturing and supply-chain resilience. The Guardian, for example, reports calls from UK fashion manufacturers for NHS and military uniforms to be manufactured domestically. Supporters argue that public procurement could sustain UK manufacturing capacity and reduce supply-chain vulnerability.The Financi...

The Financial Times reports controversy surrounding the procurement of the NHS Federated Data Platform, subsequently awarded to Palantir. Emails obtained under FOI reportedly show that an NHS England official raised objections to wording in a proposed statement by the National Data Guardian before the contract award. NHS England says it did not pressure the Guardian, while the Guardian's...

Pagabo/YPO have selected 109 suppliers for a national civil engineering, infrastructure and enabling works framework estimated at approximately £4.295bn including VAT. It covers 13 lots including highways, rail, water, maritime, energy, aviation, nuclear, defence, demolition and land remediation. Appointing suppliers does not guarantee them any share of the £4.295bn; revenue depends on f...

The Government Commercial Function published a new Framework Practice Guide on 10 September. It sets a consistent standard for the whole framework life cycle, including establishing frameworks, selecting and managing suppliers, making call-offs and managing framework performance under the Procurement Act 2023.This reinforces the point that a framework is not simply a procurement rout...

Construction suppliers remain under margin pressure. Recent industry reporting points to contractor input costs increasing faster than tender prices, while construction administrations continue despite some month-to-month improvement.Buyers should be cautious about apparently attractive low bids. Unrealistically low margins can subsequently appear as aggressive change claims, dispute...

Supplier exclusion and participation in frameworks remain controversial. The government has told MPs that Fujitsu will not use its places on major government frameworks. Fujitsu will not pursue new public-sector customers while the moratorium remains in force.Supplier due diligence is increasingly about more than financial standing and technical capability; past performance, integrit...

NHS procurement problems remain in the spotlight. The UK's largest NHS trust has reportedly overhauled its procurement arrangements following scrutiny of a 12-year consultancy contract!  Separately, NHS England is centralising water contracts, with expected savings of at least £5m annually.These two stories illustrate both sides of procurement: poor governance creates exposure, ...

Global shipping risk is becoming structural rather than temporary. A coalition of 18 major shipping nations, including the UK, has warned about geopolitical conflict and trade restrictions. They say these factors are causing a structural change in international trade. Maersk reports that some services are cautiously returning to the Suez Canal, but stresses that the situation remains unp...

The new Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing in England takes effect on 1 October 2026. It is broad enough to include commercial competencies such as contract management. These competencies apply where they are relevant to a person's role.The important point is that the Standard is not simply a requirement for housing qualifications. Furthermore, registered providers mu...

The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025. Purchasers should increasingly treat procurement as an end-to-end commercial life cycle, rather than a procurement exercise that ends at contract award.The Act creates significant post-award transparency and performance obligations. The design of KPI and SLA regimes has fundamentally changed, making post-award contract man...