Press Releases

New Framework Agreements Herald Improved Value For Money For Government

PRESS RELEASE 15/03

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) today announced its latest initiative designed to ensure greater value for money from government contracts, with the launch of its revised government Business, Professional and IT Services Framework Agreements, known collectively as S-Cat.

Commenting on the benefits of the new S-Cat agreement, OGC Chief Executive, Peter Gershon said:

"This is another example of how harnessing government's combined purchasing power can produce real value for money benefits for the taxpayer.

These new framework agreements will enable public sector organisations to buy a wide range of consultancy and business services both quickly and efficiently, at very competitive rates.

It will also reduce the bid and processing costs incurred by suppliers in dealing with government, which will be of particular interest to the over one-third of the suppliers under S-Cat who are SMEs."

The new Agreements enhance the original S-Cat arrangement, which was set up in 1997, and offer both central government departments and the wider public sector a wide range of consultancy and business services via five distinct elements:

• IT Consultancy, Services & Related Products including GIS
• Financial Services
• Management & Business Consultancy
• Human Resources Services
• Business Information & Research

The revised S-Cat agreement sees an expansion of categories and services, with over 170 companies offering services across a multitude of disciplines.

The public sector annually spends over £300 million through S-Cat.

With average savings of 10% being realised through the previous S-Cat agreement, value-for-money savings of between £30 million and £35 million pounds are anticipated over the next financial year (03/04), with potentially greater savings in the future as more departments take advantage of the deal.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The April 2001 National Audit Office (NAO) Report, Purchasing Professional Services (http://www.nao.gov.uk/pn/00-01/0001400.htm), had identified potential savings of at least 10% on the £600m departments currently spend on professional services. The revised S-Cat agreement forms part of OGC's response to the NAO Report and will contribute to these savings through the inclusion of Professional Services categories such as Human Resources (including Recruitment, Interim Management and HR-related consultancy) and Financial Services (including Accountancy, Audit and Finance-related consultancy).

An advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEC) invited Service Providers to register their interest in bidding for inclusion in the revised Services Catalogue (known as 'S-Cat'). Firms, which were successful in this competition, have now been included in the revised S-Cat catalogue and are now able to undertake various types of consultancy and specialist services work for public sector bodies.

As the frameworks have been awarded in accordance with the EC rules (via an OJEC competition), Government organisations can place orders with S-Cat companies without going through a full OJEC competition saving both time and resources.

The S-Cat catalogue had been running since 1997 and until recently contained 78 service providers, spread over 13 categories. S-Cat is managed by OGCbuying.solutions, the trading arm of OGC.

Among the new categories included are Geographic Information Services and Systems (for further information click the link http://www.ordsvy.gov.uk/)

The NAO identified £610M expenditure on Professional Services (for the financial year 99-00). They identified 4 major areas of interest - Management Consultancy, Legal Services, Financial Consultancy and Human Resource advice and assistance.

Established in April 2000, the OGC was set up to act as a catalyst in procurement issues and to work with civil departments to achieve best value for money in their commercial activities. Responsible for civil central government procurement policy and best practice including Construction, Property Management, IT, Supplier Relations including opening government contracts to SMEs, e-Commerce including the Government Procurement Card, the Gateway Review Process, OGCbuying.solutions, including the Government buying catalogues, G-Cat and S-Cat and developing strategic procurement partnerships with the private sector.