Industry news

A pressure group has claimed that of the 400 clinical contracts made available for bidding, around 70 per cent have gone to the private sector.

Since competition rulings came into force in April 2013, the NHS Support Federation has claimed that based on the tenders advertised on the official Journal of the EU and on the NHS website Supply2Health, the private sector took the vast majority of contracts available, worth around £5 billion collectively.

A Department of Health spokesman said the report only focused on a tiny sample: "These figures are highly selective and misleading. The percentage is based on a tiny sample of contracts. The reality is that private sector providers carry out around 6 per cent of NHS work.”

The Support Federation said: “the evidence in this report already points to a significant transfer of care out of the hands of the NHS towards a range of commercially driven providers. It also shows how commercial influence is also spreading to the management of NHS facilities and to the decisions around how the NHS budget is spent.”

South Tees NHS saves with accounts management system

NHS moves forward with GP data collection

The Irish Government has published its Public Service Reform Plan which is designed to generate significant cost savings through procurement reform.

In total the reforms are designed to generate savings of over £410 million within a three year period, from a centralisation of services and a move to increasingly professionalise the procurement sector.

The report details a move to develop skills, employ procurement specialists and: “up-skill public service managers in the execution of end-to-end outsourcing”.

The Republic of Ireland minister of state for public service reform, Brendan Howlin, said: “The new Reform Plan will set the basis for a new public service, one that is focused on delivering better outcomes for citizens and business customers; one that is efficient and responsive; and one in which public servants are empowered to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.”

Fujitsu announces creation of 192 jobs in Ireland

Northern Ireland increase private healthcare usage

The move to close tax-loopholes by many G20 countries including the UK is facing last-minute attempts by lobbyists from tech firms.

The Digital Economy Group, which lobbies for many leading U.S. based digital firms, has written to the think-tank tasked with drafting loophole reforms, in a bid to argue that tech firms do not employ tax avoidance practices and that legislation should not target tech firms specifically.

The group said: "Enterprises that employ digital communications models do not organise their business operations differently as a legal or tax matter."

The reforms follow companies such as Google paying small amounts of tax compared to billion dollar profits.

Google on collision course with European data regulation

Accenture has extended a seven-year contract with learning provider Hemsley Fraser, to deliver leadership and management training for a global consumer goods client.

The global outsourced HR initiative will see Hemsley Fraser provide services for a further four years, as part of an extension of an original contract signed in 2007.

Services covered in the training include management skills, coaching, communication, business planning and strategy formation.

Zsofia Kolontai, Category Manager for BPO Procurement Services at Accenture, said: “Hemsley Fraser's objective will be to create integrated learning paths, to ensure that individual managers and the business can achieve maximum returns”.

Accenture replaces CGI for troubled Obamacare site

Accenture moves to Sri Lanka’s outsourcing sector

The European Parliament has confirmed the creation of new procurement rules for the European Union, designed to reduce red tape, blacklist poor performing suppliers and encourage SME participation.

The announcement of new rulings comes after the UK government pressed for procurement reforms within the EU, following substantial savings within the UK from national procurement reform.

The new rules simplify existing legislation with the creation of standard procurement documentation, designed to reduce administration and increase the participation of SMEs in European procurement programs.

In addition the new EU procurement rulings encourage governments to break large contracts into small lots with public sector mutuals being given exemption from EU competition for a period of three-years.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said: “My officials and I have been lobbying on this directive in Brussels and with other member states. The changes will help encourage more public sector mutuals to spin out by protecting the newest from full EU competition rules.”

Government plans £1 billion management framework

European SMEs buoyant about growth

CGI Federal has been replaced as the lead contractor for the Obamacare enrollment website by Accenture after a series of setbacks.

The Accenture contract which will replace CGI Federal’s contract after it is scheduled to end on the28th February, has been valued at £58 million.

The HealthCare.gov portal which failed to function after becoming overloaded by visitors, provides enrolment services to the public, as part of the U.S. government’s nation healthcare reform plans.

Accenture Federal Services chief executive David Moskovitz, said: “Accenture will bring deep healthcare industry insight as well as proven experience in building large-scale, public-facing websites to continue improving HealthCare.gov."

The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which supervised the launch, said: “"As CMS moves forward in our efforts to help consumers access quality and affordable health coverage, we have selected Accenture to become the lead contractor for the HealthCare.gov portal, and to prepare for next year's open enrolment period".

Accenture awarded RBS 6 Nations renewal

Accenture to move into Sri Lanka’s outsourcing sector

New regulation has been backed which will stop suppliers from non-EU countries from bidding for public sector contracts, if home markets do not offer equal opportunities to EU businesses.

The new rulings will apply to public sector contracts worth more than €5 million and where goods and services from outside of EU terrorises make up more than 50 per cent of the total value.

The regulation would make undeveloped countries exempt from the rulings in order to prevent harming economic growth in these cases, despite such measures critics have said that the regulation threatens to damage the UK by establishing protectionist trade measures.

European trade commissioner Karel De Gucht, said: “I am a firm believer in open markets. Europe’s public sector market is one of the most open in the world and should remain so. This stands in contrast to many third (non-EU) countries.”

EU creates new procurement rulings

The lessons from food supply chain contamination last year, including the discovery of horse meat, have still not been learnt according to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee MP Anne McIntosh.

As of yet no results or convictions have been made from investigations into the revelations that meat products had contained contaminated products.

McIntosh commented that: “Retailers still need to work on smaller supply chains,” adding that “By buying local we can more likely trace all sources of our food.”

The committee said that the transportation of meat still faced high risk and that more analysis of food should be carried out.

Details of significant delays to the Ministry of Defence’s new recruitment project have emerged, with suggestions that the project is currently two years behind schedule.

The Recruitment Partnering Project, which is focused on driving online recruitment to the armed services, may not be operational until April 2015 according to a report in The Times.

Delays have been attributed to a lack of progress in establishing computer hosting systems, resulting in lost applications and missed recruitment targets.

A MoD finance official said: "If the ICT hosting solution is not put in place then the MoD risks not gaining the appropriate number of recruits needed.”

In order to rectify the schedule, the MoD is reportedly considering investing further resources in a new IT platform in order to prevent further delays.

A MoD spokesman said: “In December last year we acknowledged a number of problems with the Army and Capita recruitment partnership. Ministers have gripped these problems and put in place a number of fixes to correct the issues that had emerged.”

MoD reveals new ICT strategy

Verizon has announced an infrastructure deal with Tesco, designed to centralise services for the supermarket giant.

The agreement comes in support of a general application and services centralisation programme by the supermarket, which seeks to link suppliers, customers and employees of Tesco together on one system, across 12 countries around the globe.

The infrastructure programme is expected to drive increased delivery times, while improving overall efficiencies in order to provide cost savings.

Mike McNamara, Tesco’s CIO, said: “Verizon has the scope and expertise to help us deliver on our vision wherever we are around the globe. Whether in our stores, online, or on the move, we need our infrastructure to support our business goals.”

Leading dairy company partners with Verizon

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