Training and experience of Home Office staff involved in authorising expenditure
Published 16 December 2013
© Crown copyright 2013
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/training-and-experience-of-home-office-staff-involved-in-authorising-expenditure/training-and-experience-of-home-office-staff-involved-in-authorising-expenditure
FOI release 29203
-
Home Office staff with purchasing responsibilities must as a minimum receive adequate training and development commensurate with the competencies required for the particular post they hold. This should align with the Professional Skills for Government commercial and procurement competencies.
-
The Home Office Commercial Directorate supports staff to undertake training towards the Certificate of Competence and to be a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS). Advancement to the more senior positions in the purchasing specialism usually requires staff to hold full membership of the MCIPS.
-
All staff must comply with the EU Public Procurement Directives and Home Office procurement managers are responsible for ensuring that all staff involved in the procurement process is fully acquainted with the detailed requirements of the rules through formal training or skills transfer.
-
The Home Office requires that all staff must never make any purchasing commitments on behalf of the Home Office unless they have sufficient delegated procurement authority and prior financial approval has been obtained.
The Home Office procurement projects must have a Risk Potential Assessment (RPA) completed to determine the level of risk associated with the project. Generally, this will apply to expenditure over £100,000. Please see the table below for guidance:
| EO | HEO | SEO | G7 | G6 | SCS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No qualifications, no experience | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Less than one years experience (with or without qualifications) | £10K | £20K | £100K | £250K | £250K | £5M |
| 1-3 years experience, no qualifications | £20K | £100K | £250K | £2M | £5M | £10M |
| 1-3 years experience with relevant qualifications | £50K | £200K | £500K | £5M | £10M | £20M |
| Over 3 years experience, no qualifications | £50K | £200K | £500K | £5M | £10M | £20M |
| Over 3 years experience with relevant qualifications | £100K | £250K | £1M | £10M | £15M | £40M |
Within the Home Office Budget Holders are given delegated responsibility to authorise expenditure, on an annual basis and are informed of the limits to that authority. This is supplemented by training to ensure that they are fully aware of their responsibilities.