National Audit Office | Procurement Insights

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Breaking News: All Change at the Top of UK Government Procurement by Colin Cram

May 22, 2013

The announcement of David Shield’s departure from his position as Managing Director of the UK’s Government Procurement Service will be a shock for many people. Boosting its turnover from about £4bn a year to £11bn a year in 3 years was no mean feat. Even the normally critical National Audit Office wrote what was, on […]

Outsourcing MOD Procurement by Colin Cram

April 30, 2013

Editor’s Note: With the recent NOGO-GOCO decision (at least for the next year) by the UK Government regarding a proposal to outsource the Ministry of Defence procurement function by way of a government owned – contractor operated model, the following August 2012 commentary from Colin Cram is worth revisiting. There is no perfect model for […]

Margaret Thatcher: An Insider’s Perspective by Colin Cram (Part 1)

April 11, 2013

In 1980 I joined the Cabinet Office in 1980 as part of a team set up to support the efficiency and reform agenda of Margaret Thatcher’s newly elected government and to supplement the work of the then Sir Derek Rayner, the Prime Minister’s efficiency adviser. Continuing in that role within the Cabinet Office and then […]

Delivering Government Procurement Policies by Colin Cram

March 14, 2013

In the 1980s, a TV comedy programme in the UK achieved very high audience ratings. Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister, was an avid fan. It was called ‘Yes, Minister!’ and viewers saw the hapless government minister pitched against the civil servants, led by ‘Sir Humphrey’, who did their best to undermine any ministerial policy […]