Trade, Policy And Procurement Meet Again.

Procurement / By / August 3, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading

Trade, Policy And Procurement Meet Again.

August 3, 2021
Procurement

The UK’s Trade and Agriculture Commission has published its final report, along with twenty-two recommendations, one of which is to direct the UK Government to buy food sourced in the UK.

Recommendation 18: The UK government should review the current public procurement plan for food. In addition to achieving value for money and meeting nutritional requirements, it should maximise the opportunity to source from the UK, source sustainably and improve the transparency of the sourcing process.

Leaving aside the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) policy on transparency and non-descrimination which prevents governments from adopting nationalist procurement policies, there may be something in the commission’s recommendation to buy more locally sourced food. Whilst the WTO doesn’t allow the government to insist on using UK based suppliers, it would allow for tenders to prioritise food with limited food miles, or food that meets animal welfare specifications that exceed those in other countries.

There is a fine balance to be struck here, potential trade partners will not want to pass up on the opportunities to sell their produce to wholesalers that sell to the public sector and, given the fiscal pressures, procurement teams will prioritise costs over food miles and welfare.

So unless local food is cheaper than imported food, the government will need to intervene in order to meet the commission’s recommendations. That means either providing additional, ring-fenced funds to procurement teams or providing grants or tax breaks to food producers to ensure their products are competitive.

The potential to use procurement to deliver positive social outcomes should not be dismissed, but the challenge of achieving it is harder than recommending it.

To understand how procurement data can be used to increase exports, improve social outcomes and drive growth,get in touch.

September 29, 2022

£900k Government Fund To Help Charities Win Public Contracts.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is running a Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Contract Readiness Fund grant...
Read more...
September 27, 2022

New EU Procurement Instrument Now Law.

About a year ago, we wrote an article on the new procurement instrument approved by the European Union. In recent weeks this...
Read more...
September 20, 2022

Blacklisting Gets Tested.

Back in June we wrote about blacklisting of suppliers and the Government’s intention to prevent poorly performing suppliers from bidding for government...
Read more...
September 8, 2022

UK Risks Its Place On Anti-Corruption Body

The UK has been placed ‘under review’ by the 77-country-strong Open Government Partnership (OGP) due to its failure to meet mandatory criteria...
Read more...
September 8, 2022

Thurrock Exposes Transparency Blind Spot

An investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) into investments by Thurrock Borough Council has led to the resignation of the...
Read more...
September 6, 2022

New Zealand Government Reviewing Procurement System.

It’s always encouraging when we see governments around the world looking to improve their procurement transparency and efficiency. The New Zealand Government...
Read more...
September 1, 2022

Collecting Data For Sustainable Procurement In Construction

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at setting a sustainable procurement framework in the construction industry, and what kind...
Read more...
August 30, 2022

Selecting Data For Sustainable Procurement In Construction

It is estimated that around 40-50% of natural resources are transformed into construction material, and that as much as 30% of all...
Read more...
August 25, 2022

Setting A Sustainable Procurement Framework For Construction

When procuring construction projects, it can be useful to underpin sustainability criteria on existing policy and regulation. When assessing the enabling framework,...
Read more...
August 18, 2022

Big Net Zero Contract Win For Small Cornish Business

A small Cornish company has purportedly won a £70bn contract to help deliver the country's transition to Net Zero. The Penzance based...
Read more...
August 16, 2022

Supporting Sustainable Procurement In ICT

One of the key challenges of sustainably procuring ICT lies in the lack of transparency in supply chains. To overcome this challenge,...
Read more...
August 11, 2022

Why Is Sustainable Procurement Important For The ICT Sector?

The extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal of ICT products is associated with a number of environmental, social, and...
Read more...
August 10, 2022

Shifts Towards Sustainable Sourcing

A while ago,  we shared an article on findings by the Boston Consulting Group and the World Economic Forum that showed procurement is responsible...
Read more...
August 9, 2022

Supporting Sustainable Procurement In The Construction Industry

Construction projects are usually long and complex, involving the participation of different stakeholders throughout the different project stages. There are certain factors...
Read more...
August 4, 2022

Why Is Open SPP Important In The Construction Sector?

The construction industry is estimated to account for 6% of global GDP, with Africa's construction market valued at around USD 5.4 billion...
Read more...

Newsletter

Compelling research, insights and data directly into your inbox.

Recent media stories

Drugs gang boss ran children’s home
The Times
May 30, 2022
CIPFA Speaks
CIPFA
August 3, 2021
The Hidden Procurement Challenges Behind The Global Vaccine Rollout
Supply Managment
August 4, 2021

Search

Recent articles

Scroll to Top