Procurement in the pandemic and beyond: Reflections and lessons for government commercial

Institute for Government

The government’s ability to quickly and effectively procure goods and services was a critical part of the UK’s response to coronavirus. Whether goods like PPE or services such as testing facilities, the government handed out large contracts, often to new suppliers, at greater speed and with less competition than normal. The government was faced with difficult choices, and no easy options, raising questions about the decisions made and improvements that could be made in the future. At this event, an expert panel discussed: How effective were government changes to procurement guidance? Did the government strike the right balance between urgency and due process? What lessons can be learned from the success of the approach to procurement taken by the Vaccine Taskforce? How can the lessons from the pandemic be applied to future crises and the government’s Procurement Bill? To discuss these issues we were joined by: Sarah Ashley, Partner at Baringa Steve Bates, Chief Executive Officer of BioIndustry Association and former member of the Vaccine Taskforce Gareth Rhys Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer This event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. #IfGprocurement We would like to thank Baringa for supporting this event.