Jon Milton, Growth Director for Services Procurement, explores the accelerating pace of change across public services. While Procurex England 2026 will help to bring this into focus, suppliers also have a crucial role in driving progress - by delivering smarter, more effective ways to manage spend across key areas like professional services and consultancy.
Professional services and consultancy spend management has traditionally been positioned as a fast and compliant route to market for organisations. Direct award is the dominant option, and it certainly ticks all the boxes for speed and compliance for spot buying – but it also bypasses the significant amount of value creation that further competitions bring.
A new partnership-based model is emerging, one that exchanges longer-term opportunity for added value, drives consistency, and embeds competition as a mechanism for better outcomes rather than just compliance.
So why does this matter now?
The PA23 was designed to simplify and modernise public procurement, while opening opportunities for suppliers of all sizes. Managed service models like those offered by Reed Talent Solutions’ sister company, Consultancy+, already align well with its principles, offering access to diverse, predominantly SME-based supply chains and flexible sourcing routes.
However, Section 71 introduces a step change: contracting authorities must assess and publish supplier performance against KPIs on at least an annual basis.
This creates a challenge for direct award models. Inconsistent spot buying processes make it difficult to apply standard performance frameworks or gather comparable data.
A partnership model addresses this gap by introducing consistent, repeatable processes, ensuring performance can be measured, managed and reported effectively.
Read more in this article, where Jake Stone, Principal Consultant explores ‘The Procurement Act 2023: A shift in pace’.
Joint and several liability (JSL) is the major new UK employment and tax legislation that makes recruitment agencies and end clients legally responsible for unpaid PAYE and national insurance contributions (NICs) where a non-compliant umbrella company in their supply chain defaults on its payments.
Managed service providers of agency staff have responded by placing tighter obligations and reporting requirements on their respective suppliers, with the additional costs borne directly by the supplier themselves. However, applying additional costs to already low margins has resulted in several suppliers offering their candidates direct to line via ‘consultancy’ statements of work (SoW), outside of managed service programmes, by-passing the new obligations.
Unmanaged direct award outside IR35 SoWs can create significant risk. A partnership model mitigates this risk by enforcing agreed governance, ensuring all engagements follow consistent, compliant processes.
AI has the potential to significantly enhance procurement capability, accelerating processes, improving scoping, and enabling better project delivery.
For Consultancy+, AI is already transforming how requirements are defined, how suppliers are matched, and how outcomes are tracked. But AI also introduces new challenges around transparency, accountability, and value realisation. Themes we explore in more detail in this article, ‘AI in the public sector: from ambition to action and assurance’, by Ian Reid, Principal Consultant.
Organisations need models that can both harness AI and govern its use effectively.
Partnership-based approaches provide the structure to do both: embedding AI into consistent workflows while maintaining the oversight and controls needed in a public services environment.
We now live in a world of continuous transformation. Working with a partnership-based model for professional services and consultancy means each new project doesn’t have to take the authority into unchartered territory though. Transformations form a huge part of Consultancy+’s managed projects, enabling us to share best practice and connect authorities and suppliers to foster proactive knowledge sharing.
Our experience includes the management of some major projects related to local government reorganisation supported by both Big Four and niche consultancies. For more about LGR, read our article from Tracey Dawes, Client Engagement Director, on ‘Why services procurement management matters for local government reorganisation’.
Perhaps the most important reason for switching to a partnership model is the greater value that it offers to organisational stakeholders, suppliers, procurement and the organisation itself.
Consultancy+ has designed its partnership model to deliver value to each party through structured competition - saving time, increasing process efficiency, reducing costs and maximising SoW lifetime value.
The shift towards partnership-based models isn’t just a trend, it’s a response to a more complex, regulated, and fast-moving drivers of change.
Public bodies who rethink their approach will be better positioned to manage risk, unlock innovation, and deliver transformation at pace.
To discuss your organisation’s procurement challenges and priorities, book a meeting with the team today.
