Committee calls for clarity on how Procurement Act data rules will be implemented

The Public Accounts Committee has called on the Cabinet Office to set out clear directions and guidance for contracting authorities on publishing data on prospective and awarded contracts amid "significant issues" with the quality and completeness of published data.

The comments come in a report from the committee which noted that recent analysis from the National Audit Office shows incomplete, tardily published or inconsistent information on a significant minority of contracts.

These data issues also mean Government is unable to evaluate competitive trends in markets, the committee said.

The Procurement Act, which received royal assent in October 2023 is expected to address the data issues, but the committee raised concerns about the implementing the new regulations.

The new regulations are expected to be fully implemented by the end of 2024, but the committee said the Cabinet Office and Government Commercial Function do not have a "clear plan" for the investment required, or a timeline of steps to ensure that the wider public sector has the commercial skills required to achieve the intended reforms.

It also noted that the Government does not have data on all relevant individuals within contracting authorities, such as arm’s length bodies or local authorities, that should be upskilled on the requirements of the Procurement Act, which "could impede" implementation.

The committee recommended that within three months of the Procurement Act coming in to force, the Cabinet Office should define how it will use data to evaluate competitive trends and set out clear directions and guidance for contracting authorities on:

• the collection and publication of data relating to all contracts, including any modifications to the contracts.
• the requirements for timeliness of reporting information on the new contract database.
• the collection of data to assess the outcomes achieved.
• collecting data on supplier performance to inform future procurements.

It also recommended that The Government Commercial Function and Cabinet Office should set out, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how they will manage the transition from the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 to the Procurement Act, including timelines, cost implications and resources required.

Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee, said: "The Cabinet Office needs to act swiftly to dispel any continuing lack of transparency around publicly funded contracts, so that taxpayers are able to see clearly how their money is being spent and not find this hard to discover.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Value for money is always the number one priority, and our specialist teams have saved the taxpayer £2.9billion in the last year.

“Our new Procurement Act will also help us to improve data quality and analysis when assessing bids, while our commitment to transparency means all contracts are published online for public scrutiny.

Adam Carey