Blog

Public procurement is firmly in the spotlight in the COVID-19 crisis. Local authorities spend around £100bn or 47% of their total budget annually on procurement. In the pandemic crisis, it is crucial that this money delivers the maximum benefit for communities

A major study into how local authorities have managed their annual £100bn local procurement spend during the pandemic has been launched with a call for evidence.

Back in June our friends and colleagues at the excellent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) produced another high quality report on the evolving thinking around models of public private contracting.

We hear much about the changing nature of relationships. In a COVID world and in respect of “lockdown” we have all had to find new digital ways to communicate be it personal or commercial.

The idea of partnering covers a wide range of public policy issues which are the centre of academic and policy debate. That partnering is central to public policy is partly an inherent feature of open and mixed political and economic systems.

The impact of COVID-19 on our local communities poses serious and complex challenges for public services and their partners. The crisis has already led to major changes in the way in which local authorities, health, community and private sector partners work together.

Members of the network and others met at the House of Lords on 5 September 2019 to debate the need for a policy innovation in the field of partnering and to affirm their collective commitment to exploring this with the Centre for Partnering.