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Thameslink saga keeps on rolling
By Morven MacNeil, GO Content Editor The Transport Select Committee has recommended that the procurement process completed by the Department for Transport (DfT), which led to the selection of Siemens rather than Bombardier as the preferred bidder for new Thameslink rolling stock, should be independently reviewed by the National Audit Office. In its latest report, [...]
(Continue reading)Follow the money
By Mark Glitherow, Trend Controls Obtaining the financial resources to install a building energy management system may be easier than you think. With public sector budgets being squeezed left, right and centre, it may appear that now is not the right time to consider spending precious financial resources on a building’s infrastructure. However, with energy [...]
(Continue reading)Exclusive GO Interview – Paul O’Brien
Paul O’Brien, Chief Executive of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and a regular blogger for GO, speaks to GO Content Editor Morven MacNeil about the key developments taking place within the organisation and his thoughts on the future of procurement. The Association for Public Service Excellence is a not-for-profit local government body working [...]
(Continue reading)NHS procurement in the spotlight
By Morven MacNeil, GO Content Editor Now in its 41st year, the Health Care Supply Association Annual Conference and Exhibition 2011, held at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate on 2-3 November, provided delegates with vital information about NHS procurement and the road ahead over the coming years. With around 200 delegates comprising NHS procurement professionals and [...]
(Continue reading)One voice
By Diane Leggo, Head of Tell Us Once Delivery Partnerships Tell Us Once (TUO) often amazes people with its straightforward simplicity. It enables someone coping with a birth or death in the family to notify the relevant authorities in one fell swoop. Before TUO, people spent much time and money contacting up to 28 different [...]
(Continue reading)How to hire credible consultants
By Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Director in Charge, Institute of Consulting In the past 18 months we have seen a cull in the number of consultants working in the public sector as a consequence of government spending cuts. The Management Consultancies Association reported that the number of consultants in the sector fell by 15 per cent in [...]
(Continue reading)Defence budget in the spotlight
By Morven MacNeil, GO Content Editor A new report has highlighted that action taken by the MOD to balance its overall budget in the short term following the Strategic Defence and Security Review has made nearly an additional £500 million in-year cost increase in 15 of the largest defence projects. Spending watchdog the National Audit [...]
(Continue reading)SMEs and the ‘contracts’ debate
By Morven MacNeil, GO Content Editor An interesting issue was raised recently in a House of Commons debate regarding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and whether there are ways to encourage local authorities to procure from them. Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood asked Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude what steps he is taking [...]
(Continue reading)The NPfIT – the saga continues
By Morven MacNeil, GO Content Editor The Treasury has published a document in response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)’s earlier findings regarding the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS. The PAC report, published in August, was based on evidence from the Department of Health and its contractors BT and Computer Sciences Corporation [...]
(Continue reading)Sharing for success?
The implementation of a project to create a centre to streamline back-office functions for the seven research councils has so far not been good value for money and there is a risk that the councils may not recover their investment, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). When finally operational 15 months [...]
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