Current Issue

Welcome to the September edition of Government Opportunities (GO) magazine – your essential guide to all that is happening within the public procurement sector.

Over the last four decades, discrimination legislation has played an important role in helping to make Britain a more equal society. The Equality Act 2010, which is being introduced in October, is intended to provide a new cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. However, it will also enable duties to be imposed in relation to the exercise of public procurement functions. GO looks at what this means for procurement and the reaction it has generated from the profession.

Also included in this edition of GO is an in-depth interview with Andrew Croston, Head of Procurement at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Mr Croston discusses the recent developments taking place within Defra and the organisation’s plans for the future. We also have a themed edition on Procurement Law with expert advice from Bird & Bird LLP and Harper Macleod LLP among others.

Finally, some key events in which GO magazine is heavily involved are drawing closer. Procurex Scotland 2010 takes place at the SECC in Glasgow on 26 and 27 October. The event is a rare opportunity to get the whole picture on procurement developments across the public and private sectors and also incorporates the GO Excellence in Public Procurement Awards Scotland 2010-11. Now in its third year, the GO Awards Scotland event builds upon the success of the National GO Awards, which are recognised as the UK’s leading public procurement awards. This year’s after dinner speaker is Steve Nallon, writer and performer and original member of the Spitting Image team. A full list of the finalists will appear in the next issue of GO.

A new addition to day two of the event is the Procurex Live Arena, sponsored by GO. The all-new Live Arena will offer a series of interactive presentations and live debates with added value for visitors, providing updates on the latest topics on the procurement agenda. The Live Arena will be positioned within the exhibition floor and is completely free to attend. There will be two one-hour sessions – one in the morning and another in the afternoon – which will include an expert panel. If you have a burning procurement-related question that you would like to ask the Live Arena panel, please go to www.procurexscotland.co.uk

The July/August edition of the magazine will be available from 31 August. Public sector buyers can register to receive GO free by clicking here; private sector organisations can also subscribe.