From next month, all new works proposed by central Government will have to be procured through either the Private Finance Initiative, Design and Build or Prime Contracting (see i-FM news story 7 April). The directive will apply to all refurbishment and maintenance contracts from 1 June 2002.

Traditional, non-integrated procurement strategies will only be used where it can be clearly shown that they offer the best value for money - effectively ruling them out in all but a minority of cases.

The new guidance on procurement, which was announced yesterday by Andrew Smith, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, also emphasises the need for procurement decisions on public buildings and works to achieve a balance between aesthetic and environmental impact, functionality and affordability.

Andrew Smith (pictured) said: "Central Government spends some £7.5 billion annually on construction and therefore is one of the industry's most influential clients. We have a responsibility to help the industry to improve its performance by creating the market forces that make this possible.

"The Achieving Excellence initiative, launched last year to improve significant Government clients' performance, made it clear that we will focus on interacting with suppliers in the future through integrated supply chains working co-operatively. The documents launched today indicate a further move in that direction."

Nick Raynsford, DETR Construction Minister, also commented: "The Achieving Excellence campaign has set Government Departments and Agencies challenging targets for improving their performance as clients, and has introduced action plans and monitoring arrangements to ensure delivery. I am pleased to announce today another step forward in the modernisation of government procurement."

Anna Lagerkvist