NFB calls for procurement reform

Following the publication of a report on the state of public procurement across Wales, by the Wales Audit Office (WAO), the NFB has called for procurement reform.

According to the report, Welsh public sector bodies spent approximately £6Bn on the procurement of goods, services and works, and auditors have pointed out “notable procurement failures” across local public institutions in Wales.

Huw Vaughan Thomas, auditor general at the WAO, said: “Our findings are clear: while public bodies face a range of challenges in a changing procurement landscape, they can do more to strengthen their procurement arrangements and recent examples highlight the financial and reputational risks of getting procurement wrong.”

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) is calling for procurement reform, as it believes that SMEs are often overlooked in spite of the expertise and efficiency they bring to the supply chain.

Construction SMEs are particularly important to the local economy, through employment, training and retaining two-thirds of all construction workers. For every £1 invested with an SME, 90p remains locally to train local apprentices, employ local workers, and grow the local economy.

A further study by Bangor Law School, looked into the barriers preventing SMEs from securing public sector contracts. Results from that study have helped to bring about greater transparency in public procurement and resulted in more successful bids for SMEs.

The WAO research has uncovered a number of flaws in public sector tendering. There is evidence that public bodies in Wales were not providing sufficient tender evaluation information. In many cases, they were not even advertising ‘sub-OJEU-level’ contracts (below £130,000), which are of the ideal size for SMEs.

Rico Wojtulewicz, policy advisor of the NFB, said: “With a third of the £6Bn procurement spend in construction; the Welsh Government has a chance to reform its procurement process and begin enabling local SMEs, who train and retain two out of three apprentices in the industry.

He continued: “Unless frameworks become more SME-friendly, Wales will struggle to make sure its investment sees sustainable economic returns.”

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