Government publishes ‘outsourcing playbook’ to deliver better public services

The Government has launched an ‘outsourcing playbook’ intended to improve how Whitehall works with industry and deliver better public services.

The ‘Playbook’, which can be viewed here, include:

  • Requirement for pilots – enabling the government to learn from experience and deliver better public services;
  • Risk allocation – new measures to ensure contracts are “set up for success from the outset”;
  • Key Performance Indicators – KPIs from every new outsourcing contract will be made publicly available;
  • Resolution Plans (Living Wills) – for the event of a supplier’s corporate failure;
  • Publication of pipelines – departments will be required to regularly publish their upcoming requirements, to help suppliers plan ahead;
  • Make versus Buy Decisions – to identify when it is best to deliver public services in house or when there is benefit to drawing on the expertise of the private sector.

Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden said: “Outsourcing can deliver significant benefits, including value for money and more innovative public services. Our new measures will improve how the government works with industry and provide better public services for people across the country.

“I can provide reassurance that the Playbook makes explicit that, when designing contracts, departments must seek to mitigate, reduce and then allocate risks to the party best able to manage it. A more considered approach to risk allocation will make us a smarter, more attractive client to do business with.”

Jon Lewis, the CEO of Capita, one of the suppliers which government worked with to develop the new measures, said: “This is a sea-change, both recognising the vital contribution the private sector makes in delivering first-rate public services, and then finding ways to do this even better.

“These new ways of working will place a stronger focus on establishing partnerships based on mutual trust and a joint focus on positive outcomes. This is fundamental to the successful procurement and delivery of public-sector contracts.”