Cabinet Office launches learning and development package for Procurement Act

The Procurement Act recently received Royal Assent, officially making it law. We expect the new procurement regime to take effect in October 2024. To support housing associations prepare for the new regime, the Cabinet Office has been developing a range of learning and development opportunities so that the sector is fully prepared to manage the transition to the new act – including newsletters, videos, and eLearning and face to face sessions.

To find out more about the learning and development opportunities on offer, please get in touch with John Wallace, Director of Procurement at Clarion and Single Point of Contract for the Cabinet Office.

As part of this, 10 regional Communities of Practice have been launched, covering all of England – and housing associations are invited to join one of these groups. The leads for each of the groups meet on a monthly basis, chaired by John Wallace. The initial purpose of the Communities of Practice is to:

• Create a community of procurement professionals in the public sector to help enhance procurement capabilities and maximise the procurement opportunities by the new regime.
• Support any existing, locally-managed commercial/procurement communities of practice across organisations and sectors.
• Provide a platform for peer support and the creation and sharing of best practice.
• Discuss and identify trends, challenges, and risks in procurement practices.
• Encourage procurement, commercial and commissioning professionals to apply best practice using the new regime.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in procurement best practice within an organisation, sector or region.

In the longer term it’s hoped that the regional Communities of Practice will eventually form a National Housing Procurement Association to support procurement colleagues in the sector.

If you’d like to join one of the 10 regional Communities of Practice, find out more about the other learning and development opportunities on offer, or if you’d like to know more about the new procurement regime, please get in touch with John Wallace.