A quick scan of Government statements suggests a slow change of procurement systems, they hope, to allow British products a chance. It came up in a debate about the Industrial Strategy (which I have not read) just recently.
I wrote the next few paragraphs without realising there's a change in procurement law that I ought to check-out, but the old freedom of information response below still gives an idea of the problem.
Years ago in 2019 I wrote a blog post now lost about Merseyside Police procurement of Firebikes – a kind of boys' dream of motorbike & fire extinguisher. I counted the number of UK motorbike manufacturers on Wikipedia and I hoped to find some statement about whether Merseyside Police gave these smaller enthusiast firms a chance before buying BMW. The answer looked like a "no", combined with a certification process and a need to apply. The motorcycle workshop that works in some other niche market has to know that the
- tender exists and roughly how long it takes to apply
- they are in with a chance (maybe someone like them got a contract before or BMW are expensive compared to their pricing)
- certification is possible; maybe a tender can be granted subject to certification to reduce application costs
and all of these are possible but, if you are running a workshop along with tax and employment and the rest, would you think it plausible enough to spend time?
There are similar things about footwear, the trade I worked in. A process defines how you certify a safety boot, but the people doing the certification are expensive. Government could help by encouraging more people to go into the certification business and emphasising how simple some of the tests are. Government could even help with the cost. If you are applying to supply ceremonial footwear, the process is murky and nobody really knows how a certain firm gets the contract. If you want to supply air crew footwear – that had just changed when I looked.
This is the reply to the freedom of information request:
Firexpress: The bikes complete with Firexpress system and personal protective equipment were purchased from the sole UK distributor for Firexpress, Depot Rail. We do not get a choice of the motorbike that Depot Rail have had certified for use.
Motorcycles (General use). These are purchased through the PITO Framework (Police Information Technology Organisation) which is a national framework for the purchase of cars, vans and motorcycles, and is available for Police and Fire Authorities to utilize and has followed the appropriate procurement process for the establishment of the Framework. Our Contract Standing Orders are published and are in the public domain.
I didn't dig deeper.
Now, some civil servant might be given the job as the current government is interested in using procurement more creatively. By chance it's my local MP who popped the question about Industrial Strategy. I will pop her question here at some point but meanwhile she got this reply
"there is a commitment among Ministers to ensure that Government procurement is targeted at British companies. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made a strong commitment to reduce regulation and bureaucracy, so we can ensure that these contracts are awarded more efficiently and more easily to small businesses in the UK"
Nobody stated which civil servant is given the job of reviewing The Police Information Technology Network's framework for procuring bikes, or uniforms, or anything else, or how to get positive suggestions into their in-tray and some of the catch phrases are from the USA. My MP, asking the question, said "nobody ever got the sack for specifying IBM". Another catch phrase: "Will the last person out of Chicago please turn out the lights?", followed by attempts by the remaining institutions like colleges, hospitals and local government to hire local people and use local production.
From my own experience in working with agencies commissioned by local government trying to re-generate and support local employment, the attempts are often wildly botched and entirely the wrong people are hired to do a terrible job (I was in finge social work and the contractors were firms like NACRO or housing associations) but the idea is good even if past experience is mixed.
After writing the text above, I realise that there have been changes in procurement law and guidance since 2023 which I know very little about. The guidance is called the National Procurement Policy Statement and I don't know if it is also law. An introduction says
"This new NPPS ensures that public money spent on public procurement supports delivery of the Government’s missions, delivers economic growth, supports small businesses, champions innovation, and creates good jobs and opportunities across the country"
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