Morning, Monday, 9th February 2026
Online
This conference will consider the future of public procurement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss key themes emerging from the Public Procurement: Growing British Industry, Jobs and Skills consultation, against the backdrop of the Modern Industrial Strategy, the National Procurement Policy Statement, and the Procurement Act 2023.
Attendees will consider early indications of the impact of measures now in force including social value requirements, flexibility on competition design, and proposals for public interest tests for insourcing - as well as how these are aligning procurement practice with wider objectives for resilience and decarbonisation. There will also be discussion on calls from stakeholders for further action to increase transparency and simplify processes.
Planned sessions include a focus on priorities for SMEs and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector and how they can be addressed, in areas such as market access, prompt payment, and support for meeting evolving requirements.
Further sessions will assess approaches to fostering innovation and market access for start-ups and scale-ups, examining initiatives such as the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence and the Commercial Innovation Hub. The Government’s forthcoming Digital Sourcing Strategy will be considered, including measures that will be needed relating to commercial standards, contract management, and the use of shared platforms to improve consistency and efficiency in the procurement system.
We also expect discussion on how departments and local authorities are adapting procurement processes to embed AI and other advanced technologies, and how this can best be carried forward to support capability, accountability, sustained performance and delivery of value.
With the agenda currently in development, overall areas for discussion include:
- policy:
- insights from implementation and developments under the Procurement Act
- early indications of how proposals emerging from the procurement consultation are influencing supplier access - alignment of the Industrial Strategy and policy statement with wider goals
- priorities and next steps:
- new data requirements and increasing transparency - improving data quality - rollout of the new digital platform across contracting bodies
- strengthening capability within authorities - achieving flexibility with consistency as local authorities adapt to the reformed regime
- reform practicalities:
- public interest assessment for in‑house delivery and outsourcing - use of standardised procurement clauses and requirements linked to jobs, apprenticeships, and skills development
- integration of decarbonisation targets into contract design
- contracting practices: applying exclusion rules for firms with poor payment records - monitoring delivery against contract terms - implications of tougher enforcement for accountability
- SME and VCSEs: support for participation - options for guidance, monitoring, and targets - measures supporting market access, prompt payment, and capacity to meet evolving requirements
- digital change:
- priorities for the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence in opening opportunities to SMEs
- insights from pilot projects and innovative procurement approaches being tested through the Commercial Innovation Hub - development of digital procurement strategies
- addressing stakeholder concerns about legacy systems and supplier concentration - implications for resilience, costs, and competition
- AI: embedding machine learning and automation into procurement processes - implications for departmental capability, accountability, and oversight
- sector studies:
- insights from the CMA’s Civil Engineering Market Study on competition and barriers to entry
- studies on early contractor involvement and potential cost savings, better cost forecasting, and improved project outcomes - approaches to implementation in project delivery
- infrastructure planning: priorities for the NISTA portal - project timeline and funding transparency - support for planning and investment decisions - coordination with the Infrastructure Strategy
