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16-770: CCS was originally created as the Buying Agency on 1 April 1991. On 1 April 2000, it became part of the newly established Office of Government Commerce (OGC) within HM Treasury . On 1 April 2001, the Buying Agency, the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency , Property Advisors to the Civil Estate and other units from the Treasury merged to form OGCbuying.solutions . The agency's name

32-522: A range of framework agreements , which are a set of pre-tendered agreements with a range of suppliers from whom public sector customers can purchase goods and services. In the field of IT, historical examples of framework agreements include CITHS frameworks ( commoditised IT hardware and software), ITHS (IT hardware and solutions), SPRINT II, Software Application Solutions, and Desktop21 for desktop computer services. The SPRINT II agreement offered pre-negotiated deals on computer hardware and software. Its use

48-486: Is the Crown Hosting Data Centres framework, which can be accessed by all central government departments, arm's length bodies and the wider public sector . A small commission (typically less than 1%) is collected from the suppliers for each sale they make under these frameworks agreements. UK Government Procurement Policy Notes were in the past issued by CCS. These are now issued in the name of

64-909: The Cabinet Office in 2010, before being closed in 2011. A Review of Civil Procurement in Central Government was undertaken by Peter Gershon , then a company director, which had been requested in November 1998 by the Paymaster General and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office and was published in April 1999. This review recommended the establishment of a central procurement organisation within central government, which Gershon called

80-665: The Office of Government Commerce . He noted in his report that the review had been initiated because of the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair 's interest in a Ministerial Cabinet Committee report on Public Expenditure published the previous April. The OGC operated through the Government Procurement Service, an executive agency now known as the Crown Commercial Service . The purpose of the OGC

96-485: The "Kelly Programme". The organisation used to act as sponsor for best practices in project , programme, risk and service management: These areas of best practice are now owned jointly by the UK government and Capita, being managed by Axelos . The OGC was a member of Procurement G6 , an informal group leading the use of framework agreements and e-procurement instruments in public procurement . On 24 April 2008 it

112-550: The Cabinet Office, but the CCS Helpdesk acts as the contact point for any queries. A separate series of Scottish Procurement Policy Notes , and a parallel series of Construction Policy Notes issued since 2017 aiming to alert Scottish contracting authorities "to new policy, guidance and other matters relating to public sector construction ", are published by the Scottish Government . As part of its support of

128-558: The Government Market Place , with an accompanying Action Plan , which included several findings related to the government’s ability to approach the market as a unified, knowledgeable client . An aim of the report was "to consider what further steps can be taken to increase competition and encourage better long-term capacity planning in markets where the Government possesses significant purchasing power". In response

144-440: The OGC mandated its Government Marketplace Division to focus on implementing the report's recommendations by undertaking research on projected demand and supply to produce proposals for more strategic management of public sector procurement in specific markets; making improvements to two-way communication in the marketplace; and issuing guidance on market creation to stimulate competition. This programme of work has been referred to as

160-691: The benefits of utilising smaller suppliers and the potential of eProcurement. Representing the UK at the European Union (EU), the organisation assisted with the public sector application of EU procurement rules within the United Kingdom . In December 2003 Sir Christopher Kelly wrote for the OGC a Report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer: Increasing Competition and Improving Long-Term Capacity Planning in

176-467: The national government Internet infrastructure, CCS manages the UK's Government Secure Intranet (GSi), including the entire third-level government domain .gsi.gov.uk and its sub-domains . Office of Government Commerce The Office of Government Commerce ( OGC ) was a UK Government Office established as part of HM Treasury in 2000. It was moved into the Efficiency and Reform Group of

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192-768: The service's own data, CCS secured commercial benefits of £3.8billion in the financial year 2022/23. CCS operates as a trading fund established under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973 , as amended in 1990, with offices in Liverpool , Norwich , Newport , Leeds and London . CCS provides professional procurement services to the public sector to enable organisations to deliver improved value for money in their commercial activities and provide professional support when it matters, advising on technical issues, energy-saving and environmental improvements. CCS's operations, and formerly those of GPS, include

208-616: Was changed to just Buying Solutions in April 2009. On 15 June 2010, it moved, along with its parent agency the OGC, to become part of the Efficiency and Reform Group within the Cabinet Office . Its name was changed to the Government Procurement Service (GPS) in July 2011. In January 2014 the GPS merged with the procurement management from government departments to form the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). According to

224-566: Was mandated from 4 March 2011, amidst some controversy, for purchases by police authorities in England and Wales of commoditised ICT hardware and off-the-shelf software under government regulations issued in 2011. Claims were put forward during the currency of the agreement that supplies were more expensive via the Sprint ii route than through other sales channels, although the claims were later retracted. A current (as of September 2023) example

240-545: Was reported in the Daily Telegraph that a new logo for OGC had been introduced at the cost of £14,000. The logo caused embarrassment to the organisation due to its unintended sexual suggestiveness (appearing to show a man masturbating) when rotated 90° clockwise. A spokesman for OGC said, "It is not inappropriate to an organisation that's looking to have a firm grip on Government spend." Efficiency and Reform Group Too Many Requests If you report this error to

256-686: Was to support the procurement and acquisition process of public sector organisations in the UK through policy and process guidance and the negotiation of overarching service and provision frameworks. This was intended to improve value for money to the taxpayer, optimising the level of taxpayers equity directed towards the delivery of services. Similar organisations can be found in most western European countries, for instance Hansel Ltd. in Finland and Consip in Italy . The OGC supported initiatives to encourage better supplier relations, sustainable procurement ,

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