PPRG members cited in the Financial Times

Members of the University of Nottingham Public Procurement Research Group (PPRG) have been cited extensively in two articles in the Financial Times (FT). The articles, written by Gill Plimmer, focus on major issues arising in the context of “framework agreements”.

Frameworks are essentially large, often multi-million pound agreements set up by public authorities. These are used to enlist hundreds or thousands of suppliers to supply under individual “call-off” contracts as and when needed for a range of vital and routine public services. Private sector providers play a key but increasingly questionable role in helping to manage these for the public sector.

 In one FT article, titled “Process for UK government contracts erodes ‘transparency' ”, Steven Brunning (Partner, Anthony Collins and current PhD candidate) identified the problem of multiple overlapping generic frameworks that are being overused and, in many cases, misused.

In the another FT article titled “Private providers winning big fees on UK public sector contracts”, it was explained that “private companies are charging lucrative fees to manage contracts across swaths of the UK public sector, pushing up the overall costs to taxpayers”.  Steven Brunning, Rebecca Rees (Partner and Head of Public Procurement, Trowers & Hamlins and current PhD candidate) and Professor Luke Butler (Head of the UK Procurement Law Unit) of the Public Procurement Research Group, are all cited. They highlight key challenges arising which include: the risk of framework providers driving up the volume of work to derive higher fees; the risks of conflicts of interest where framework managers commission public services but also generate profits; the risks of poor value for money given their operation in an overcrowded marketplace; and the lack of effective regulatory controls.

These insights build on some of the fundamental empirical research done by Steven Brunning during his PhD on the commercial operation of framework agreements in the UK, confirming the pressing need for policy and regulatory reform. Rebecca, the leading procurement expert in the housing sector, is also exploring the “race to the bottom” in public contracts, namely, the focus on price evaluation to the exclusion of other factors which has significant implications for value for money.

 The PPRG welcome all engagement by the media and policy-makers on these important public interest issues.