PPP Management

Published in Supply Management on 3rd November is a thought provoking article about the government's decision in awarding the first outsourced contracts for the probation service.  The topics of interest are: The wide use of charities to undertake work in this sensitive area. The mixture of charities and private sector companies as partnerships in delivering the services. The sensitive nature of the service being outsourced and the serious ramifications if the outsourced services fail. The shifting nature of the current service and the uncertainty that a split service will face (for the rehabilitation of serious offenders the current government service will remain in place). The adoption of a remuneration clause if the contracts are cancelled. The current coalition government has championed the "big society" and the wider encouragement of SME to bid for government work, the latter enshrined in the government's consultation paper on the forthcoming OJEU 2015 ...

Headline "G4S and Serco could pay government £4 million over failures in asylum seeker housing contracts" http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2014/g4s-and-serco-could-pay-government-ps4-million-over-failures-in-asylum-seeker-housing This appears to be another negative story about G4S and Serco.  However read on..... "negotiations are taking place that could see up to £4 million being paid to the Home Office as a rebate for failure to hit KPI targets" Let's congratulate the Home Office for two things: 1. Setting ambitious targets and making the contractors work for them. 2.  Writing contracts that are sufficient rigour that penalty clauses are effective and that contractors are being held to account. Will the PAC applaud the work of the Home Office? Time will tell. It should not be forgotten that the subject of housing for asylum seekers is a very emotive subject and any contractor that takes on this challenge should be encouraged.  There has bee...

It would seem that now is the season for airing government procurement and contract management failings: Local government - http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2013/local-government-not-taking-advantage-of-procurement-advice Central Government - http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2013/review-of-g4s-and-serco-contracts-reveals-deficiencies-in-key-controls The actions from Messrs Crothers and Hurd will be decisive in improving the performance of procurement and contract management within central and local government.