Keeping services solvent: how government can build a resilient public sector supply chain
The current uncertain global economic and political climate is making it increasingly difficult to manage public sector supply chains and mitigate against risks of delivery delays or even financial failure. This makes it even more vital that public sector organisations take the time to understand where the risk lies and start working with suppliers to manage vulnerabilities – before they impact services.
Besides typical areas of supply risk such as disruption, financial issues and insolvency, sustainability of supply chains is also under focus in government, as public sector organisations strive to improve resilience and better serve their clients or citizens.
Government legislation – and lessons learned from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic – require organisations to have an increased understanding of suppliers’ impact on the environment, social constructs, governance and the economy.
An analysis of supply chain risk, coupled with incorporating understanding of socio-economic drivers, can therefore help the Public Sector make better decisions and avoid threats to delivery of services. For example, understanding beneficial ownership from a person perspective but also geographic location is becoming more important with both manmade and natural disasters causing concern.
In this webinar, experts from Dun & Bradstreet gave an overview of some of the key macroeconomic trends affecting public sector supply chains. Join to find out:
- Key factors that determine supplier sustainability, from sales and profits to environmental, governance and social impact
- Why sustainability will be a key driver going forward for government procurement – and how organisations can use it to make smarter decisions
- How data can help to mitigate all areas of supply chain risk.
Panel
Matthew Rees, Commercial Hub Director, National Audit Office, United Kingdom
Matthew Rees returned to the National Audit Office (NAO) in 2021 as Director of the NAO’s Commercial Hub, having previously served as the NAO’s Director of Corporate Finance until 2016. In the intervening period Matthew was the Director of Regulation and Economics at the SSRO, a Ministry of Defence agency, and Senior NED at Gemserv Limited. Matthew is a member of the ICAEW’s Supervisory Council, and he has a wide range of private and public sector experience in accounting, corporate finance, competition policy and economic regulation.
Ben Masterson, Head of Companies & Commercial Projects, Deputy Director, Commercial Directorate, Department of Health & Social Care, United Kingdom
Ben Masterson is Head of Companies and Commercial Projects at the Department of Health and Social Care.
An accountant by profession, Ben has held a variety of accounting and financial management roles in the NHS and DHSC.
Ben is a Non-Executive Shareholder Representative Director of three company Boards, namely NHS Shared Business Services Ltd, Community Health Partnerships Ltd and NHS Property Services Ltd.
Kris Hamson, Deputy Director – Head of Analysis, Risk & Delivery, Markets, Sourcing and Suppliers, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
Kris leads the supplier resilience area within the Markets, Sourcing and Suppliers team, in Cabinet Office commercial, supporting Departments and colleagues across the public sector on this topic.
This supplier resilience work includes supporting the implementation by contracting authorities of the Resolution Planning and Economic and Financial Standing policies from the Sourcing Playbook. Kris joined the Government Commercial Organisation as a Strategic Partnering Manager in 2017 before taking on his current role. Previously he worked in the energy industry and the aerospace industry, working in commercial, procurement and investment analysis roles.
Barry Hooper, Chief Commercial Officer, Ministry of Justice, United Kingdom
Barry joined the Civil Service in 2015 having worked within the private sector and in particular the commercial arena for more than 30 years. As one of the founding members of the Government Commercial Function and the Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Profession for the Ministry of Justice, he leads one of the largest outsourced departments within Whitehall, managing a contracted spend which exceeds £26bn across c4500 contracts, spanning the whole commercial lifecycle. Barry also oversees the operation of the department’s national distribution centre, fleet and engineering services providing critical services to support the operation of the Prison and Probation service. More broadly, he is a member of the MoJ Investment Committee, Chair of the Commercial Oversight Group, Information Security Board, and a regular attendee at the various Audit and Risk Committees.
As a member of the Government Commercial Function’s leadership team, Barry is integral to the development of the public sector’s far-reaching procurement profession. He is also Chair of the Cabinet Office consulting triage board, member of the Infrastructure Projects Authority Steering Board and a Civil Service Reform Champion.
Tommaso Aquilante, Associate Director, Economic Research, Dun & Bradstreet
Tommaso Aquilante is Associate Director of Economic Research at Dun & Bradstreet, where he is responsible for macroeconomic research and business intelligence & analytics for a large set of European economies. He has previously worked at the European Central Bank, at Bruegel and at the University of Birmingham before becoming senior economist at the Bank of England, where he took on a leading Brexit role in the Monetary Analysis Directorate. His research work has been published in academic outlets such as Economic Policy, Economics Letters, and European Journal of Political Economy, and his policy work has been covered by leading media such as The Economist and Bloomberg. Tommaso was awarded his BA and MSc in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and his PhD in Economics from ECARES, at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, in Brussels.
Webinar chair: Siobhan Benita, former UK senior civil servant
Siobhan Benita was a senior civil servant with over 15 years’ Whitehall experience. She worked in many of the major delivery departments, including Transport, Environment, Health and Local Government. She also had senior roles at the heart of Government in the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, including supporting the then Cabinet Secretary, Lord O’Donnell to lead work on Civil Service reform and strategy. Siobhan left the Civil Service to run as an independent candidate in the Mayor of London election. She subsequently joined her alma mater, Warwick University as Chief Strategy Officer of Warwick in London and Co-Director of the Warwick Policy Lab.
