Consultations

Cabinet Office public procurement consultation

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JUSTICE has responded to the Cabinet Office's Public Procurement Consultation, calling for a more rights-centred approach to government contracting that prioritises the rights of individuals who rely on public services.

Drawing on our 2024 report, Beyond the Blame Game: A Responsible and Rights-Centred Approach to Government Contracting, our response welcomes proposals to improve transparency and introduce greater flexibility in the procurement of people-focused services, while emphasising the need for stronger safeguards to protect individual rights.

In our response, we recommend:

  • Increasing opportunities for VCSEs in public procurement, particularly in people-focused services, recognising their expertise in the needs of service users and potential to deliver high-quality services.
  • Improving transparency and accountability by extending the requirement to publish key performance indicators (KPIs) for all contracts posing medium or high risks to individual rights, improving proactive disclosure of government contracts and extending Freedom of Information legislation to private companies delivering public services.
  • Developing the concept of people-focused services in procurement (to be identified by an early rights impact assessment) allowing more flexible procurement processes where justified but subject to increased accountability, transparency and proper contractual protections for individual rights.
  • Strengthening the role of service users in preliminary market engagement, making greater use of independent oversight bodies in contract oversight (such as inspectorates and ombudsmen) and establishing clear training requirements for people-focused services.
  • Strengthening public interest tests by requiring contracting authorities to assess whether the delivery model is likely to uphold individual rights, including consideration of previous rights breaches, and applying this test to all services posing medium or high risks to individual rights.

Read the response in full here.