MPs call for revolution in public sector building procurement

Picture of Olympic Stadium under construction for Expert Witness storyThe All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment has called on the Government to implement what it has termed 'a procurement revolution' to deliver significantly better value for money across the public sector.

Among the proposals in its report A Better Deal for Public Building is a call to adopt the procurement processes employed by the Olympic Delivery Authority, which was hailed for its successful delivery of top-class projects, to budget and on time.

The report endorses the Government's aim of achieving 20% cost savings for public construction projects over the course of the current Parliament, as outlined in its Construction Strategy, but it says that, unless Government implements its proposals, there is a danger that the savings will be achieved at the expense of good quality design.

Key recommendations include:

• Setting up a Best Practice Procurement Advisory Group to assist inexperienced public sector clients to define their objectives clearly and adopt appropriate procurement arrangements for the size and type of project. Infrequent clients would also benefit from appointing a professional adviser to develop the brief.

• Procuring projects on the basis of integrated teams (designers, contractors and, if appropriate, asset managers). The selection of an integrated team must not be made on the basis of lowest price. Instead, as with the construction of the venues for London 2012, the decision should be made on the basis of a balanced scorecard. This means, marking the bid against a prescribed range of specified criteria, one of which should be long-term sustainability.

• Ensuring large-scale public projects (£100m+ in value) have mandatory construction commitments, based on the 2012 Construction Commitments. Participants in the project should be required to report progress towards meeting the commitments over the duration of the project.

• The Government should encourage voluntary adoption of such construction commitments across a wide range of public and private sector projects with a programme of promotional activity, including awards to highlight and celebrate success. Key indicators could include client leadership, sustainability, team integration, design quality, health and safety and commitment to people, which includes a commitment to employing local people and excellent facilities.

• Requiring the Government's Chief Construction Advisor to prepare an annual report on the performance of public sector clients in construction procurement. That should highlight positive achievements in successful projects as well as failure to deliver value.

The group's chairman, Sir Tony Baldry MP, said: "As the squeeze has tightened on public spending, it is more imperative than ever that public sector clients and their suppliers work together to lower the cost of building procurement to the public purse. Lest it be overlooked, the Government is still the construction industry's largest single client, spending £46bn a year.

"The austere times we are living in will certainly provide a driver for change for both client and its construction industry suppliers. If costs can be reduced it should ensure more building and infrastructure projects go ahead.

"We hope our observations and recommendations will provide support for the Government Construction Strategy, underline the magnitude of the task and offer suggestions for finally putting the know-how we have into action across the public estate, in order that we can bring about the procurement revolution we still so desperately need."