The first central government-led contract to mandate levels of competition in the supply chain was announced by the Cabinet Office this week.
A civil service training contract worth up to up to £250m was awarded to Capita Workplaces Services, with the proviso that the firm ensures a minimum of 51% of the business is delivered through an open and competitive supply chain. The Government hopes this will increase the number of smaller players getting access to public business – with small businesses making up the majority of the roughly-13,000 businesses in the learning and development market.
