By Jamie Hailstone The outgoing director general of the CBI has called on councils and companies to work together to create better procurement and improved public services. Sir Digby Jones, who steps down next month, told the National Public Procurement Practitioner’s Day conference in London that better systems of procurement would mean more value-for-money services. ‘The benefits from good procurement are clear,’ he said. ‘Better services, better value for money, and more job satisfaction for procurement professionals. These rewards could be financial, but we all know it’s not just about money, but also job satisfaction and variety.’ Sir Digby said the CBI would be publishing a report shortly showing how community involvement could help councils and businesses improve the services they provide. ‘In Slough, local residents played a role in developing a solution to failures in the streetscene and recyling services,’ he said. ‘A citizens’ jury actually voted to increase council tax to improve the service. ‘The public’s priorities were then woven into the new procurement strategy.’ According to Sir Digby, Serco was literally putting its money where its mouth was with a quarterly customer satisfaction survey for its landscaping and street-cleaning services with Woking BC. Up to 10% of its payment is determined by satisfaction levels from the survey, and if levels fall below a certain threshold, then the contract itself will be terminated. ‘As this example shows, smart procurement can necessitate an element of risk-taking,’ he said. ‘And this is where effective political leadership has a key part to play.’ The former editor of the Financial Times, Richard Lambert, will succeed Sir Digby. j.hailstone@hgluk.com
