Department for Transport procurement strategy
Information on the Department's commercial and procurement strategy and how it will be implemented across the Department and its Agencies.
Details
Centralised category procurement
Centralised category procurement (CCP) is a key part of the government’s centralising procurement agenda. It provides an established process for developing a procurement strategy for each CCP category, and a governance structure that will deliver a mandated outcome for each category. CCP has ministerial backing and is government policy, and the Minister of State for Transport has responsibility for ensuring CCP is implemented across the DfT family (DfT centre and agencies).
The CCP approach has been adopted by the department, with category leads appointed across the department’s procurement specialists to represent the whole department’s needs. This approach enables category leads to develop an in-depth knowledge of their particular areas of spend.
The government’s CCP agenda means that DfT will no longer be responsible for letting contracts in certain categories of common goods and services, but the expertise built up by the category leads will provide DfT with a strong intelligent customer resource to feed into wider government initiatives.
DfT has in place a lead official for each CCP category together with a supporting structure that provides DfT family-wide engagement through the operation of representative user groups for each CCP category.
The following procurement categories are covered by the CCP initiative:
| Category</strong> | Category Leads (Business Unit) |
|---|---|
| Legal | DfT(C) |
| Temporary Staff | DfT(C) |
| ICT | DfT(C) |
| Advisory Consultancy | DfT(C) |
| Transport Research and Technical Advice | DfT(C) |
| Print and Promotional Materials | DVLA/ DfT(C) |
| Office Supplies and Stationery | DVLA |
| Office Equipment | DVLA |
| Post and Couriers | DVLA/GCDA |
| Vehicles: purchase, lease, repairs and maintenance | HA/GCDA |
| Utilities | HA |
| Learning and Development | HA |
| Clothing and Uniforms | HA |
| Facilities Management | DSA |
| Travel | MCA |
| Events and Exhibitions | MCA |
Strategic procurement activity
Procurement activity that lies outside the centralised categories is undertaken by the central Department (DfT(C)) and agency procurement teams as separate procurements.
Current major areas of procurement activity are undertaken by the following business units:
| Business Unit | Activity |
|---|---|
| DfT(C) | HS2 |
| DfT(C) | Rail Franchising |
| DfT(C) | Rolling Stock Procurement |
| DfT(C) | Road Traffic Information Provision |
| DfT(C) | Search and Rescue Services |
| DfT(C) | Shared Service Centre Divestment |
| DSA | Driving Theory Test |
| DSA | CRB Checks |
| DSA | Fraud Investigation |
| DVLA | ICT Contract Let Programme |
| DVLA | Front Office Counter Service Transactions |
| DVLA | Merchant Acquirer Services |
| GCDA | Chauffeuring |
| GCDA | Specialist Couriers |
| HA | Road Construction Projects |
| HA | Road Construction Project Management |
| HA | Road Construction Architects and Surveyors |
| HA | Traffic Information Systems |
| MCA | Search and Rescue (Helicopter) Services (including relief crews, training and maintenance) |
| MCA | Pollution Clearance |
| MCA | Aerial Surveys |
| MCA | Marine Traffic Management |
| MCA | Emergency Communications |
| MCA | Hydrograph Services |
| VCA | Vehicle Testing Equipment |
| VOSA | Test Equipment Purchase and Maintenance |
| VOSA | Enforcement Equipment Purchase and Maintenance |
| VOSA | MOT Computerisation |
Further information about the CCP categories and strategic procurement activity can be sought from the appropriate contacts.