CCS eyes major overhaul with £8bn IT procurement framework consolidation plan

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has issued a "prior information notice" to engage industry around its plans to consolidate existing IT procurement frameworks, potentially into a single procurement framework covering up to £8bn of IT spend.

CCS operates as an executive agency and trading fund of the Cabinet Office, and its primary remit is to provide procurement savings for the public sector as a whole, by leveraging its purchasing power to secure better deals from suppliers, thereby ensuring maximum value for taxpayers.

The purpose of the notice is to outline the government's intention to potentially merge the Digital Outcomes 6 and Digital Specialists and Programmes schemes into a unified framework.

The notice explains that the consolidation of these frameworks is under consideration, but it remains possible that they could continue as separate entities. The primary objective is to ensure that central government and public sector bodies across the UK can access a comprehensive range of services.

"The current agreements provide access to agile application development services, digital specialists, user research studios and user research participants for use by Central Government and UK Public Sector bodies," the notice announces.

CCS is seeking market feedback to determine the future approach and scope of services for the consolidation.