Procurement by the Government of Jersey (P.A.C.2/2025): Executive Response

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

RECOMMENDATION 1 The Government of Jersey should report expenditure on unavoidable utilities payments to the States owned entities (i.e. Jersey Electricity) separately to that of overall procurement expenditure to provide a more accurate picture of where spend is being made from procurement activity. This should be implemented by Quarter Four 2025.

If the Government does not report in the way recommended, then the spending profile may not be provided with and an accurate picture of the services bought in by GoJ, which include these utilities. However, there may be a risk that implementing this recommendation reduces transparency by excluding certain suppliers and creates complexity in reporting.

Low

This will be considered as part of a review of commercial expenditure reporting parameters but will not be delivered by Q4 2025.

Not agreed.

No specific action at this time but will be considered as part of continuous improvement.

RECOMMENDATION 2 The Government of Jersey should continue to monitor the implementation of the guidance surrounding breaches to ensure it is being followed throughout the organisation. This guidance should also be updated to include clear information on how officials will be held accountable for breaches in procurement practices.

If breaches and exemptions to procurement guidance are not monitored, there is a risk that procurement rules are not being followed, and public money is not being spent in such a way that creates impact and value for money.

Medium

Guidance on exemptions and breaches is published and available to all Government of Jersey employees.

Management Information on recorded exemptions and breaches is already produced by Treasury and Exchequer and departments are expected to have an established process for remediation planning for breaches and exemptions that occur. Additional information will be provided periodically for

Partially agreed. Whilst work to better monitor breaches and exemptions is already under way, mandating specific sanctions in relation to failures in following procurement guidance is not appropriate. For example, breaches in procurement may be indicative of issues in

Procurement refresh.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

the CEO and Accountable Officers on a regular basis.

pipeline planning or that more training might be required. Where a performance management issue is identified, this will be a matter for the Chief Executive in respect of AOs, or line managers in respect of less senior officers.

RECOMMENDATION 3 The Government of Jersey should implement a requirement for any breaches on procurements above the £25,000 threshold to be investigated by the relevant Accountable Officer for the department in which it occurred (or in the case of an Accountable Officer the Chief Executive) which documents the reasons why the breach occurred, actions taken to mitigate future breaches and the consequences of the breach included within performance appraisals. This procedure

If investigations are not undertaken, then opportunities to learn lessons and achieve better value for money may be missed.

Medium

All recorded exemptions and breaches are presented to Accountable Officers or their approved delegates for review/approval as part of existing process.

Each submission requires detailed explanation and justification as well as plans for remediation.

Accountable Officer must comply with the PFM rules and declare and deviations from the PFM. Therefore, there is a risk that not all instances of non-compliance with PFM are recorded as a breach or exemption.

A shift to a stronger culture of identifying procurement issues would be desirable, which could be supported by additional

Agreed - already established as part requirement for remediation plan (when declared) and will be enhanced as part of Procurement Refresh

Procurement refresh.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

should be implemented by the end of 2025.

training with the potential for a licence to buy' approach.

Also see Recommendation 2 comments.

RECOMMENDATION 4 The Chief Executive Officer should ensure that departmental procurement breaches are included and discussed with Accountable Officers as part of their ongoing appraisal process. This should be implemented as part of the end of year review for 2025 and then included at all stages of the appraisal process from 2026 onwards and procurement breaches should be reviewed by the Risk and Audit Committee on a half yearly basis.

If this matter is not included in the performance management process, issues with oversight, monitoring arrangements or capability will not be managed, which may have an impact in terms of reputation or value for money.

Low

The Annual Governance statement process includes questions about breaches and exemptions to the PFM. The CEO will be made aware of the information included in departmental governance statements and therefore may use this evidence in performance management at his discretion.

Agreed. The process and nature of performance management at Accountable Officer level is a matter for the Chief Executive. However, the Chief Executive will be provided with the information to enable him to undertake action, should he consider appropriate from Q1 2026.

Enhance accountability.

RECOMMENDATION 5 The Commercial Services team should continue to review the changes in the UK on reserving procurements by supplier location with a view to implementing this in a Jersey context. This should be with a view to updating the scoring

If not implemented, fewer contracts may be awarded to local suppliers, resulting in money not remaining in the local economy, as well as the local perception that GoJ is not supporting local businesses.

Medium

Commercial Services have already received advice in respect to local only 'policy' and are considering an appropriate methodology/process that recognises contribution that local businesses provide taking this advice into account.

This is part of the continuous improvement for 2026.

Agreed and already in progress.

Greater engagement with businesses.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

criteria used within the procurement process to give additional points to local businesses where they are able to demonstrate economic and social value through job creation and tax paid back to the Government. However, this should be in line with accepted international agreements and thresholds where applicable.

Giving additional points to local business is not agreed, but giving local businesses the opportunity to bid in a competitive environment is being considered.

RECOMMENDATION 6

• Government should update the Procurement Strategies to include a narrative-based consideration of the various social value impacts attached to a particular procurement or tender. This should also provide evidence of outcome-based measures as to how the procurement will relate directly to the Island Outcome Indicators and Future Jersey Vision.

• Clarify the timescale for periodic reporting on delivery of social value

If social value is not delivered as part of contract delivery, other benefits outside of the economic benefit of contract aware may not be realised.

Low

All government contracts should deliver value to the community and should be aligned to the delivery of the Common Strategic Policy. Procurement Strategies already include narrative on this matter. However, it is a matter for the tenderer to consider how they deliver any further social value and social legacy, e.g. training of apprentices, as part of the tender process, rather than have that specified as part of the service requirements. Commercial Services offers guidance to the procuring department as to outcomes suppliers may wish to work towards through social value activities, and these are confirmed at the Recommendation to Award stage.

Agreed, already in place appropriately as part of business as usual.

Transparent outcomes.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

commitments. If this is not undertaken on a regular basis, then it should seek to mandate quarterly reporting from departments on the delivery of social value commitments.

 Make a version of the annual Social Value report publicly available to enhance transparency around how social value commitments are being met through the procurement process in the Annual Report and Accounts 2025. This should be implemented by the end of Quarter Two 2026.

Commercial Services requests updates from departments on a quarterly basis. However, this is more regular for new contracts and this frequency reporting is captured in the supplier contract.

We will publish the social value report following year-end 2025, with reasonable allowance for report production.

Agreed, already part of business as usual.

Agreed.

RECOMMENDATION 7 The Government of Jersey should ensure that procurement practices are benchmarked against metrics used in the UK and that any gaps identified within current practices are updated as a matter of priority.

If procurement practices are not benchmarked against UK metrics, we will not be able to identify is good practice is being implemented from developments in other jurisdictions.

Low

The PFM and procurement toolkits are already based on good practice. However, GoJ does regularly consider new UK Procurement Policies, as outlined during the recent PAC hearing:

The Cabinet Office are just rewriting theirs based on not being part of Brexit, which has taken a while. I am reviewing those. I am also reviewing the National Audit Office recommendations, but we are looking at both of those at the moment.

Agreed, already part of business as usual.

No action at this time.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

RECOMMENDATION 8

In respect of Information Technology Procurement, the Government of Jersey should:

• Consider the development of a project selection criteria for prioritising Information Technology programmes on a corporate level.

•

• Establish standard supplier performance KPIs, monitored centrally by the Digital Services Team and shared with departments to ensure that there is a clear line of accountability for the delivery of Information Technology procurements given the scale of investment

If projects are not appropriately prioritised, resources may not be assigned to the projects that will have the most impact for the organisation and the overall systems architecture may be less controlled. However, the project prioritisation process in respect of Digital Projects was successfully implemented in 2024, and the guiding principles continue to apply to new projects in development.

If contracts are not monitored effectively through KPIs the result could be increased costs or inability to achieve value for money within existing contracts.

Low

Low

The project prioritisation exercise which commenced in the summer of 2024 has seen departments prioritising their projects. Digital Services then works on projects in order with the priorities. The guiding principles continue to be applied to new projects in development. This recommendation is already addressed. The Budget process is also the overall corporate level management tool that drives capital project prioritisation, the above supports and assists immediate month by month sequencing priorities of projects at a Departmental level to ensure the end users / business systems owners priorities are being met wherever feasible.

There is significant diversity across over 650 Digital suppliers of GoJ IT applications and IT infrastructure systems, and therefore standardising KPIs would require a significant amount of resource from both Digital Services and Commercial Services, and also questionable whether aligned to best practices. On balance this cannot be taken forward at this time. Digital Services will

Agreed, already part of business as usual

Not agreed

No action at this time.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

within this area by Government.

Implement all the learnings set out by the Comptroller and Auditor General on effective procurement within the Learning from Previous IT Implementations – A Thinkpiece report.

This should be implemented by the end of Quarter Two 2026.

If the learnings are not considered, opportunities might be missed in maximising the benefits of IT procurement.

Low

continue to work with Commercial Services to ensure new or revised contracts have KPI's appropriate to agreement, some of which may be standardised that can apply to a wide range of systems. This will include the importance of the roles and responsibilities related to Business System Ownership.

A formal response was provided to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee from the Chief Executive Officer dated 28 March 2025, which outlined how GoJ will take forward the suggestions around the key areas in the Thinkpiece. Officers would be prepared to brief the PAC on how the principles are built into procurement practice.

Not Agreed.

RECOMMENDATION 9 The Government of Jersey should clarify the role of Commercial Services within future significant tender processes that carry a reputational risk, including a clear threshold over which they would be required to maintain oversight. This should be

If Commercial Services are not involved in significant tender processes, there is a risk that processes are not precisely followed, which might undermine processes followed and open GoJ up to challenge.

Medium

This risk is medium as departmental procurement resources are familiar with PFM and procurement toolkits, and training and support is provided. However, where high risk contracts are concerned, Commercial Services will take an active interest – although this may not be based on defined expenditure thresholds.

Agreed, already in progress as part of Procurement refresh. The mandate of Commercial Services has been under consideration during 2025. Subject to approval, changes will be implemented during 2026.

Procurement refresh.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

completed by the end of Quarter Four 2025.

RECOMMENDATION 10 The Government of Jersey should urgently undertake a lessons learned' exercise in respect of the failed joint tender process for the ferry contract to provide assurance over the steps to be taken during future joint tender situations/contracts. This should be completed and presented to the Public Accounts Committee by the end of Quarter Four 2025. It should also conduct a benchmarking exercise against the UK or EU and identify joint procurement case studies for bi-jurisdictional tenders to use as examples when planning future joint procurement ventures. The PAC also recommends implementing this in collaboration with Guernsey counterparts. This should be completed by the end of Quarter Two 2026.

If not implemented, then lessons may not be learned and issues faced may recur.

Low

Several relevant learning points from the CI ferry tender project, have already been shared with PAC in the hearing held 12th March 2025.

There are generally a very low number of bi- jurisdiction tenders undertaken by GoJ, therefore each process will need to be designed given its own circumstance. However, some of the learning points have been adopted into a current bi-jurisdiction tender (it is quite anomalous for two examples to occur within such a short period). A structure and mechanisms to manage both a joint and separate award outcome have been agreed and documented in advance between the two jurisdictions.

Agreed in principle and lessons exercises have already been undertaken. A further formal review is not deemed to be proportionate, given the low frequency of joint tender exercises.

No action at this time.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

RECOMMENDATION 11 The Government of Jersey should seek to implement a simplified SME tender track or light-touch submission process for contracts below £100,000 to assist SMEs who have limited resources to submit quotes for works/contracts. This should be implemented by the end of Quarter Two 2026.

There is no specific risk involved in the non- implementation of this recommendation. See comments.

Low

A simplified process for SME below £100,000 is not required as procurement opportunities below £100,000 only require three quotations to be requested and submitted. It is considered that this process should be within the reach of SMEs. In addition, procurement rules are balanced to not favour any particular organisation capable of delivering the requirements, and implementing this recommendation could skew this balance.

Not agreed.

No action at this time.

RECOMMENDATION 12 The Government of Jersey should establish plans for:

• Supplier onboarding drop-in sessions and a dedicated helpline for SAP Ariba use which offers First Line Support with sufficient knowledge and authorisation to be capable of addressing most issues immediately and without escalation to second level support. These should be implemented by the end of Quarter Two 2026.

• A clear plan for increasing the visibility of the pipeline

If not implemented, suppliers are more likely to face challenges in using systems.

If not implemented, then organisations may be less

Low

The Supplier Team already provide dedicated support and training to suppliers covering internal onboarding, Ariba registration and general use.

Supplier queries can be sent by email to [email protected] and if necessary,

Agreed in principle, already part of business as usual.

Procurement refresh.

the team will arrange online, telephone or face-to-face sessions to support as required.

We are exploring the benefit of greater collaboration between operational teams responsible for the purchase to pay process to improve buying practices and optimise supplier experience.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

of work that is available to local suppliers which should be published on the Government website and regularly updated. This should be completed by the end of Quarter Two 2026.

aware of the opportunity to tender for GoJ contracts and not build these opportunities into their thoughts on delivery capacity planning. The impact might mean that fewer organisations tender for contracts and competition (VFM) is lessened

Medium

The pipeline for Corporate Contracts and Framework opportunities is in the process of being collated in preparation for publishing. This will be followed by further collation of departmental pipelines which can be added to the published pipeline as the procurement planning activity matures. Further and periodic engagement work is planned to better engage market suppliers.

Agreed, however, this will be delivered in a staged way, based upon a timeline informed by engagement with departments and competing priorities.

Greater engagement with businesses.

RECOMMENDATION 13 The Treasurer of the States and Commercial Services team should seek to regularise meetings with local business representative bodies and representatives from the charitable sector to discuss challenges and barriers to SMEs/Charities seeking to engage with Government in the procurement process. This should be done to identify improvements that could be made to the processes to ensure local businesses/charities of all sizes are able to effectively

If not implemented, then organisations may be less aware of the opportunity to tender for GoJ contracts and not build these opportunities into their thoughts on delivery capacity planning. The impact might mean that fewer organisations tender for contracts and competition (VFM) is lessened

Medium

See comments on Recommendation 12. GoJ recognises the importance of engaging with SMEs. Some initial work has already taken place, and more regular events will be arranged into 2026. This engagement will be procurement centric, focussed on the future opportunities to Supply Goods & Services or deliver Works for the Government Jersey and which will be subject to a procurement process; regardless of size or legal entity of any prospective supplier.

GoJ representatives already meet with a range of charities on a regular basis as well as the AJC and the JCF. A Social Enterprise Framework has been developed. Also see GoJ response to recent reports by charity organisations.

Agreed in principle, particularly for business representative bodies and more general meet the buyer' events. However, the principles of fair and open procurement mean that these events will be driven by the requirements of GoJ, as opposed to the type of organisations potentially able to fulfil those requirements (i.e. GoJ cannot provide special provision due to those principles).

Greater engagement with businesses.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

engage within the procurement process.

Feedback is always welcome and can be provided through a number of routes, such as engagement events, direct contact with Commercial Services, or through the public portal of the Customer Feedback Management System.

RECOMMENDATION 14 The Commercial Services team should bring forward the intended survey of local suppliers to understand the challenges they are facing within the procurement process (as well as use of the Connect Suppliers ARIBA system) as a matter of priority during 2025 with a view to reporting by the end of Quarter Four 2025. The findings of this work should be reported to the PAC with a clearly defined action plan for addressing recommendations identified from the survey results.

If not implemented, then improvements may not be possible based on feedback.

Low

Whilst feedback is an important mechanism, it is not envisaged that implementing this recommendation will result in a significant value for money improvement. In addition, support to organisations is already in place where supplier face challenges – see comments on Recommendation 12. There are also certain constraints on customisation of 3rd party provided core systems (as they are designed to provide best practice processes), as well as cost and people implications, should suppliers provide feedback that might require changes to systems. However, Commercial Services has consulted with GoJ Customer Experience and Stats Jersey regarding supplier survey. The result is that a supplier survey will focus initial on a specific aspect of the procurement process due to the complexities in surveying customers end-to- end.

The intention is to identify a prioritised aspect of the process for supplier surveying

Partly Agreed, deferred. We intend to upskill internal staff that will in turn support supplier experience.

Procurement refresh.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

in 2026 – due to conflicting commitments and resource constraints.

RECOMMENDATION 15 Where a charity is providing services across more than one department with separate contracts, the Government of Jersey should seek to introduce a single point of contact, from within existing resources, which can assist charities in the negotiation and renewal of contracts. This will assist charities in providing a single point of contact and provide better value for money for Government. This should be put in place by the end of Quarter One 2026.

If not implemented, management processes may be fragmented and there is a risk of duplication by both GoJ and the organisation in question.

Low

Analysis of spend information suggests whilst this situation does occur, the frequency is very low. On this basis, the potential value for money and efficiency savings are relatively low. However, it is appreciated that due to the differing scale of organisations, a small difference in operating practice to GoJ may mean a greater benefit for charity resourcing.

GoJ has recently responded to the Association of Jersey Charities Power of Partnership' report. In that response, GoJ agreed to build on existing arrangements to support charities to help navigate the machinery and structure of Government.

Agreed in principle. GoJ will explore the extent to which this is an issue. However, any subsequent activity will be proportionate to the issue identified and prioritised against other activity.

No action at this time.

RECOMMENDATION 16 The Government of Jersey should review the current funding cycles for charities with a view to moving towards a guaranteed 3-year funding cycle. This will assist charities in terms of financial security and also feed into the long-term vision for Government services

If not implemented, relevant organisations may have less certainty about future funding arrangements, which could place key services at risk of non-delivery and therefore impacting Islander outcomes.

High

GoJ has recently responded to the Association of Jersey Charities Power of Partnership' report. This recommendation mirrors one of the recommendations included in that report. It is appreciated that both GoJ and external organisations need certainty that key services will be delivered. However, GoJ is currently operating in a challenging financial context and implementing this

Agreed but deferred. Linked activity will be deferred until such a time as public finances allow for such a commitment, that presents a different set of risks to GoJ.

None at present, deferred.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

to the public. This should be completed in time for inclusion in the Budget 2027 – 2030.

recommendation will depend on budgets, service and planning cycle.

RECOMMENDATION 17 The Government of Jersey should undertake an urgent review of the capacity and scope of the Commercial Services team to ensure it is able to adequately provide the functions it is stated to deliver. This should be completed by the end of Quarter Three 2025. Consideration should also be given to the impact of the current recruitment freeze and whether this is required to be lifted to fill roles within the team where there is a risk to the function of the section.

If not implemented, the Commercial Services team may not be able to optimise support to the organisation, with the potential impact of reduced capacity and value for money.

High

This is already in progress as part of Procurement refresh. The mandate of Commercial Services has been under consideration during 2025 with the view to approving a strategy by the end of 2025, which subject to approval and will the view to implement during 2026.

Agreed. This activity is already under way.

Procurement refresh.

RECOMMENDATION 18 The Commercial Services team should ensure that all departmental officers tasked with providing feedback for unsuccessful tenderers are provided with a refresher update on the processes to be followed when providing

If unsuccessful tenderers are not provided appropriate feedback (as a result of potential commercial sensitivity), they may not be made aware of how they could improve tenders for the future.

Low

The specific risk profile to GoJ operating context is low, as this is not considered likely to have a significant impact on value for money. However, it is appreciated that securing contracts can make a big difference to suppliers, particularly local suppliers to support the local economy.

Agreed. Commercial Services will promote the guidance periodically across the organisation and is committed to supporting departmental colleagues who have the responsibility to deliver feedback to unsuccessful suppliers.

Transparent outcomes.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

feedback to ensure that this is being routinely done in a consistent manner. This should be completed by the end of Quarter Four 2025.

Guidance on providing feedback is already included on the GoJ intranet and in procurement toolkits.

RECOMMENDATION 19 When considering potential changes to sourcing route thresholds, the Commercial Services team should ensure that there is wide ranging consultation with local businesses and the charitable sector to ensure their views are integrated into any potential changes. This work should be completed by the end of Quarter One 2026 with a report produced of the key findings from the consultation.

If not implemented, then local businesses will not be able to influence changes to procurement thresholds. However, any limits suggested by external organisations may conflict with the financial risk appetite of GoJ (Minister for Treasury and Resources, Treasurer and Accountable Officers).

Low

There has been an extensive piece of work to review existing Government of Jersey sourcing route thresholds which have not been updated since 2006.

Thresholds are being considered that take into account key factors including opportunities for the Local Supply Chain, cost to administer, competence of users, economic, etc.

This review has been evidence based, benchmarking Jersey against 15 Global comparators (inc. island nations, UK, EU and wider comparators). In addition, analysis of GOJ third party commitments in 2024 has further informed recommendations for change. The approach to developing the proposed threshold values and criterion therefore mitigates the risk of proposing an approach which is not suitable for implementation in Jersey.

Not agreed. However, some engagement with industry is likely to be undertaken as part of any changes to procurement thresholds.

No action at this time.

Recommendations

Risk of non- implementation

Risk profile (E,H,M,L)

Other considerations in prioritisation

Is the recommendation agreed?

Improvement theme

(If applicable)

However, GoJ will consider how consultation could be built into the process for amending procurement thresholds, whilst remaining mindful that risk appetite in relation to financial exposure is a matter for GoJ rather than external organisations.

Action theme

Actions

Linked Recs

Target date

Responsible Officer

Procurement refresh

• Review the procurement processes, including thresholds, and commercial resources to support procurement that will deliver a proportionate system of procurement for GoJ and suppliers.

• Upskill internal staff on purchasing and requisitioning that will minimise breaches and exemptions and support supplier experience.

2, 3, 9, 14, 17

Q4 2026 Q1 2026

Director, Commercial Services

Enhance accountability

• Provide the Chief Executive with information on procurement breaches and exemptions which will enable him to use in performance management, where appropriate.

• Review reporting provision, to ensure that information available, such as breaches and exemptions, can be appropriately used for identifying and improving processes, and performance management, as appropriate. Where reporting process do not seem to be adding additional value, consider resource/benefit in production of such reports.

4

Q1 2026 Q4 2026

Director, Commercial Services Director, Commercial Services

Greater engagement with businesses

• Plan a programme of meetings with local businesses and third sector organisations to support market awareness of upcoming opportunities to secure government contracts. Establish this as a business as usual process.

• Publish procurement pipelines on gov.je

5, 12, 13 11

Q1 2026 Q4 2025

Director, Commercial Services

Transparent outcomes

• Publish social value report for 2025.

• Promote guidance on providing feedback to unsuccessful tenderers periodically across the organisation and offer support to departmental colleagues who have the responsibility to deliver feedback to unsuccessful suppliers.

6, 18

Q2 2026

Director, Commercial Services