The pipelines published in April 2012 have data on over 1,250 potential future opportunities across 13 sectors worth £70bn. Pipelines are available on Contracts Finder. The construction pipeline is also available on the Treasury website.

Pipeline opportunity – Police Service will issue OJEU in summer 2012 for DNA sampling kits.

Pipelines will be updated every six months so suppliers have greater certainty on projects going ahead and can gear up to bid for government business.

Pipeline opportunity – DWP will issue OJEU in July 2012 for the winter fuel processing helpline.

Third iteration of the Government funded construction pipeline - now includes over 600 projects and programmes worth around £40 billion of investment to 2014/15.

Construction Products Association - "congratulate you on the excellent progress that has been made with pipelines".

G-Cloud framework listed on November 2011 pipeline, was awarded in February 2012 and over 70% of the suppliers are SMEs.

Procurement Pledge

Government is committed to making it easier for suppliers to do business with us and has signed a Procurement Pledge with 17 representative bodies and suppliers. More organisations will be signing up.

The Procurement Pledge between Government and industry focuses on longer-term business needs to better develop and manage supply markets. It commits to more pipelines, more pre-market engagement and more collaboration.

14 June 2012: 12 more organisations sign the pledge.

Pledge commitments:

1. Give potential providers greater certainty of our future demand
2. Work with potential providers to identify and address strategic capabilities in supply chains to ensure providers are prepared to meet this future demand
3. Operate an open door policy for business so that we can develop a more strategic relationship with current and future providers
4. Give all types of potential providers, including smaller providers, simpler, more streamlined procurement processes
5. Back UK business when bidding for contracts overseas.

"We welcome the publication of procurement pipelines…and a Government pledge setting out procurement reforms, which the CBI has helped to shape."

"On-going communication with government on what it wants to buy, when it wants to buy, and how it wants to buy will give many companies the confidence to invest, grow, and compete for contracts."

Strategic capability

Knowing what we will buy means Government can plan better and spot gaps in the market. Government’s first strategic capability review, using construction and tunnelling as an example, has identified skills and changes required to meet future demand.

"The projected pipeline of future work in the national infrastructure plan has given industry a platform on which to assess future needs, particularly potential skills gaps and priorities for developing engineering innovations."

Government will work with potential providers and their representative bodies to address the strategic capabilities (key skills, technologies and knowledge) needed to ensure the market is prepared for future needs.