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Cabinet Office releases procurement guidance to support suppliers

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Cabinet Office has changed the way procurement cards may be used. The outbreak has placed increased pressure on commercial and finance teams and increased importance on maintaining cashflow to suppliers.

Encouraging and increasing the use of procurement cards can progress organisations efficiency and accelerate payment to their suppliers while still ensuring efficient controls.

In scope organisations should engage with their procurement card provider to heighten the single transaction limit to £20,000 for key card holders and raise the monthly limit on spending with procurement cards to £100,000 for key card holders. Monthly spend on procurement cards in excess of £100,000 should be allowable to meet business needs.

By April 30, 2020 meanwhile, in scope organisations should also ensure an appropriate number of staff have the authority to use these cards and all relevant categories of spend are open to ensure they can be used as widely and efficiently as possible.

Not all card holders will require a transaction limit of £20,000 or a monthly limit of £100,000 and decisions around suitable caps and limits on specific cards should be worked through and agreed between in scope organisations and their card providers, with the advice of the PPN taken into deliberation during discussions.

The department’s Accounting Officer or Financial Director should, as per usual controls, still be the determining and authorising individual for key card holders in any in scope organisation, according to the PPN.

This announcement from the Cabinet Office is just one of many steps the government has taken to ease concerns from the supply chain as the country responds to the unparalleled challenges of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Read the full PPN guidance here.

To learn more about the changes to procurement policy and the public sectors current purchasing requirements submit your details and one of our specialists will be in touch.