Earlier this year, the Government announced its decision to take forward all recommendations set out in the independent report ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’, commissioned by Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The purpose of the plan is to ‘ramp up’ Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption across the […]
Sectors Archives:
CCS to showcase digital innovation at DigiGov Expo 2025
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) will host a dedicated pavilion at this year’s DigiGov Expo, the UK’s largest public sector technology event, taking place at ExCeL London on 24-25 September 2025. The new CCS Pavilion will bring together technology suppliers and public sector buyers, creating opportunities to explore innovative solutions that can transform public services. With […]
Supplier assurance: having confidence in your suppliers
NB: This article was originally published on 20 February 2025. All information was correct at the time of writing, but may not be fully applicable following the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023. What is supplier assurance in procurement and why is it necessary? Most organisations rely upon suppliers to deliver products, systems, and services. […]
Our latest agreement for back office software solutions, with increased opportunities for SMEs, is launched
The Back Office Software 2 [RM6285] agreement will provide a route to market for any UK public sector organisation wishing to purchase Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for back office applications, either in the cloud, on-premise or hybrid. The agreement will replace the incumbent Back Office Software [RM6194] agreement, which expires in April 2025. […]
How to embed environmental criteria into your technology purchases
NB: This article was originally published on 30 January 2025. All information was correct at the time of writing, but may not be fully applicable following the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023. The UK public sector, from local authorities, hospitals and schools to central government, emergency services and universities, spends more than £393 billion […]
Call for evaluators for our new audit and assurance services agreement
We are calling for volunteers from public sector organisations to support the evaluation of the new Audit and Assurance Services Two (A&AS2) agreement. This agreement will replace Audit and Assurance Services. Evaluators are an important part of the procurement process, in addition to playing an important role within CCS, becoming an evaluator counts towards your […]
New first of its kind CCS agreement for public sector food procurement goes live
The Buying Better Food and Drink [RM6279] commercial agreement will reshape how public sector customers procure their food and drink requirements with a simplified route to market and greater access to an extensive range of reliable and sustainable food and drink suppliers. The agreement will ensure standards of food safety and quality by following the […]
Commercial Pipeline update
The original go-live date for the new procurement regulations has been extended from 28 October 2024 to 24 February 2025, which was a completely unforeseen change. Following an extensive review of our pipeline, we have transitioned some agreements to PCR 2015 and extended others, which we could not have planned for until now, but will […]
New simplified agreement, providing greater flexibility for travel, accommodation and venue services procurement, goes live
Travel, Transport, Accommodation and Venue Solutions [RM6342] consolidates 2 existing CCS agreements – Travel and Venue Solutions [RM6217], which is due to expire on 13 December 2024, and Public Sector Global Travel and Venue Solutions [RM6164], which expired in June 2024 – creating the first comprehensive CCS agreement within this sector. The agreement will provide […]
Legacy IT or the cloud?: digital transformation in the public sector
What are Legacy IT systems? Legacy IT refers to your organisation’s IT infrastructure and systems, their component software and hardware and related business processes. It becomes ‘legacy’ when the technology becomes: impossible to update expensive and no longer cost effective considered an end-of-life product Across government and the wider public sector, legacy IT systems are […]