
New values
Think tank: Localis
Author(s): Callin McLinden
October 14, 2024
This report from UK think tank Localis calls on councils to make use of the new Procurement Act to drive social prosperity.
In the context of an evolving public procurement landscape, local authorities in England are grappling with multiple challenges and opportunities. An increasing strategic turn in procurement is being reflected by legislative reforms, notably the pending Procurement Bill, which aims to simplify and modernise the system.
However, the responsibilities of the new reforms for local authorities are complicated by the fact that the capacity of local government is in a worse state than it was in 2019, despite financial uplift and a widespread recognition of the value of strategic procurement at the local level – as evinced by the 2023 Procurement Act. At the beginning of a new Parliament, the urgency to re-evaluate public procurement and its relation to national priorities is heightened.
New Values builds on previous Localis reports on strategic procurement, providing a comprehensive understanding of the current state of public procurement, providing actionable insights to guide both policy and practice in anticipation of public procurement reforms, in the wake of the new political cycle kick-started in July 2024.