Byatt Report - London Borough of Hillingdon

CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The Review
In July 2000 the DETR and the Local Government Association invited Sir Ian Byatt to
chair a Taskforce charged with reviewing local government procurement in England.
The Taskforce’s terms of reference were ‘to review the state of procurement and
commissioning skills and practice in local government in the light of the requirements of
Part 1 (Best Value) of the Local Government Act 1999 and its objective of continuous
improvement in the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of local services; and to make
recommendations’.
The full terms of reference and membership of the Taskforce are set out at Annex I.
The Taskforce presented its report, Delivering Better Services for Citizens, in June 2001. The
report’s starting point was the critical contribution that procurement can make to the
quality of public services. Its 39 recommendations attracted wide support.
In December 2001 an interim statement of support was published, highlighting key
recommendations for immediate action. This is reproduced at Annex II. The present
document is the final response of the Government and Local Government Association to
the Byatt Report.
We are grateful to Sir Ian and the Taskforce for producing such a carefully considered
report and believe that the recommendations will have a significant and beneficial impact
on local government procurement in England.
Indeed, in the context of the wider developments discussed below, we believe that the
Taskforce’s recommendations form the basis of a national strategy for local government
procurement.
The Broader Context
LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER
The White Paper Strong Local Leadership – Quality Public Services, published in December
2001, sets out the Government’s vision of a ‘strong, vibrant, innovative and responsive
local government delivering the quality of local leadership and public services their
communities need’ and the measures the Government will take to enable councils to
realise that vision.
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