In 2021 the Cabinet Office initiated a high-profile Programme to deliver the procurement and implementation of the Pensions Administration Contracts for two schemes which it holds the role of Scheme Manager for, these being the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) and the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS). Failure to deliver these contracts could have resulted in:
Due to its scope and risk exposure this is one of the flagship programmes in the Cabinet Office with combined contract values of£350million, subsequently inviting scrutiny and interest of ministers, cross government senior leadership, unions, members and the media.
Acuity were responsible for directing this programme, which included the onboarding and leading of external legal procurement specialist, Cabinet Office Complex Transition Teams and Cabinet Office Commercial teams to develop and deliver a robust procurement. The initial procurement strategy outlined the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation (CPN) as the preferred procurement route. This route was chosen in order to:
Our team were intrinsically involved in the planning and execution of the 4 stage process, including Pre Market Engagement, Selection Questionnaire (SQ), Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) and Negotiation and Invitation to Submit Final Tenders (ITSFT). This included:
The Programme has successfully delivered two complex‘Competitive with Negotiation’ Procurements for contracts in excess of £300millon, and in doing so was commended for being one of the best run procurement Programmes in Cabinet Office by the Permanent Secretary and Chief Financial Officer. The success of the procurements has been noted by other public sector departments running Pensions Administration Procurement and consequently the team have been asked to provide advice and guidance on the approach and execution of these procurements.