More opportunities for businesses
Commitments
UK OGP NAP
UK Anti-Corruption Summit pledge
Platforms:
Open Contracting data from CCS
Contracts Finder
Open Data portal
Contacts in the country
Crown Commercial Services (CCS)
Cabinet Office
The UK government has made strong, clear commitments to open contracting and implementing the Open Contracting Data Standard.
We are delighted that the UK, specifically the Cabinet Office and the Crown Commercial Service, has agreed to become a Showcase and Learning Project.
We will work together with the government, business and civil society to test and learn how open contracting information can increase transparency and improve competition and ensure a fair, level playing field for businesses especially small businesses and aspirant government contractors.
The project will assess the impact of the contracting information made available to learn how it can be improved to boost competition and ensure a fair, level playing field for small businesses and aspirant government contractors.
CCS is also working to understand the needs for linking different datasets, for example connecting contracts to information on corporate ownership, and to provide the market with good data on planned opportunities beyond tenders and awards, and give citizens an understanding of the subcontracting that is delivering public services.
CCS has appointed a Steering Group incorporating representatives from other relevant government agencies, civil society and representatives from the HS2 project.
In its third Open Government National Action Plan, the UK committed to: “To implement the Open Contracting Data Standard in the Crown Commercial Service’s operations by October 2016; we will also begin applying this approach to major infrastructure projects, starting with High Speed Two and rolling out the data standard across government thereafter.”
This was also reflected in the UK Anti-Corruption Summit communiqué and country commitment, where the UK joined up with Colombia, France, Mexico and the Ukraine to establish an open contracting learning and innovation network, the Contracting 5.
The Open Contracting Data Standard has been adopted by the UK Standards Hub, which helps to set standards for software interoperability, data and document formats in government IT.
