§ Mr. Terry DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to strengthen local government's capacity to develop modern procurement practices. [133777]
§ Ms ArmstrongI have today announced the establishment of a joint DETR/Local Government Association taskforce to review commissioning and procurement in local government in the light of the requirements of Best Value.
The taskforce will be chaired by Sir Ian Byatt, who is retiring this month as Director General of Water Services; the vice-chair will be Sarah Wood, Director of Finance at Birmingham City Council.
The review will cover the procurement of goods, works and services. It will address directly the role of modern procurement practice in delivering best value. It is expected to recommend practical measures which local authorities can take to secure real benefits to local people from efficient and effective procurement.
The review will consider ways of giving effect to the Government's objectives on electronic and green procurement. It will also take into account the findings of the Gershon review of civil procurement in central government, the second Bates review of PPP/PFI, the Construction Industry Taskforce report "Rethinking Construction" and the work of the Public Sector Productivity Panel.
The taskforce is expected to start work in September and will publish a report and recommendations next spring. In October, the chairman will set out the taskforce's full membership, its working methods and the procedure for making written submissions.