New CBI report underlines the role of business in delivering public services

Highlighting the critical role that business plays in supporting the delivery of public services and infrastructure, the CBI’s Partnering for Prosperity report also identifies opportunities to harness government spending to drive innovation and economic prosperity across the UK.

The report also shows that maximising the contribution of business relies on improving procurement processes to enable business and government to work in partnership. While government has shown welcome intent to improve the way it works with its suppliers, ‘Partnering for Prosperity’ suggests that there are clear opportunities to make public contracts deliver better outcomes for taxpayers.

In particular, the CBI’s findings suggest that too often, suppliers are viewed as a vehicle for cost-reduction, rather than a partner that can bring much needed investment and innovation to the delivery of public services and infrastructure. Of the businesses surveyed, 60% believed that initial-bid cost remained the key driver of contract awards.

With suppliers facing intensifying scrutiny, the CBI argues that it is more important than ever for business and government to work together to deliver long-term value rather than just savings in the short-term.

As the report argues, unlocking this contribution in turn requires reductions in the complexity and inconsistency of procurement, to ensure that businesses of all sizes can make their full contribution to improving the outcomes that matter to citizens.