Celebrating 20 years of public sector procurement

For 20 years, Westworks has helped public sector organisations to procure with confidence, connecting them with trusted suppliers to deliver high-quality built environment projects.

From housing and schools to community spaces and essential maintenance, we’ve tendered over £1.3bn of contracts — helping our clients meet complex regulations, maximise value, and deliver real impact in their communities.

To celebrate 20 years of public sector procurement, we reflect on what we’ve achieved together and how we’re evolving to meet the sector’s biggest challenges ahead.

Our journey, our impact 2006 – 2026

It’s April 2006. Housing associations and local authorities, are preparing for the implementation of the Decent Homes Standard, the public sector is grappling with European procurement regulations, and the Labour government has committed to providing more homes off the back of the Barker Review.

In response to these pressures, a group of Southwest housing associations and local authorities are coming together with a shared ambition: to achieve better value through collaborative procurement. By pooling their resources and securing funding from the Efficiency Challenge Fund, they’ve formed Westworks, a new procurement consortium to help their organisations navigate procurement more efficiently.

Twenty years on, and that small consortium has grown into Westworks as it is today — a UK-wide service that has tendered £1.3bn of contracts for a range of public sector organisations.

Celebrating two decades of delivering value for the public sector.

Reflections from our Chair and founder

As Chair of Westworks from its early collaborative days, through incorporation to our impactful work today, I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. Our strength has been our single mindedness to deliver excellent procurement options and support at the very best value.

Procurement is not a limelight seeker, but it is a key pillar of delivering safe, well-constructed and maintained homes and public buildings with optimal efficacy. This has been our mantra at Westworks, and one we have delivered on alongside our diverse and invested supply chain.

Twenty years of procurement for the not-for-profit sector in building construction and maintenance — and the value we’ve secured for the public sector and our communities stand as our record.

Lindy Morgan, Chair of Board

Creating better futures for our communities

Westworks’ procurement solutions and services have made a real difference to communities right across the UK over the last two decades. We’ve worked with 96 different public sector organisations to award 435 contracts that have kept homes safe and warm, have built new schools, have refurbished community hubs like theatres and libraries, and much more besides.

Not only have we played a role in maintaining and improving communities, but we have also helped the public sector to meet targets, regulations and trends. For example, helping the sector prepare for Awaab’s Law.  

Connecting contracting authorities with the right suppliers has always been critical to our success. Since our inception, 182 suppliers have won contracts through our procurement solutions, and we’ve grown our network of suppliers to meet the needs of the sector.

We’ve procured works for 435 contracts including:

Delivering 120 new flats in Glencoyne Square, Bristol

Design and build of Sparsholt Higher Education Centre

Development of a new mortuary in West Northamptonshire

Redevelopment of 37 affordable homes for over-55s, West Oxfordshire

Refurbishment of Park Lane Junior School, including works on insulation, windows and EV charging points

Looking to the future

The challenges that the public sector face are evolving. New standards for housing are coming into force, local authorities are being set ambitious spending and delivery targets, and Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) demands more transparency in procurement than ever. Our role is to continue helping the sector to navigate procurement with confidence through these changing times.

Ian Dorward, our CEO, reflects on the foundations we have built to date and sets out his vision for Westworks and the role procurement must play in the years to come:

As I reflect on 20 years of Westworks, I realise how much we have achieved, how far we have come and the huge impact we have had. However, my mind must turn to the future. Procurement is a complex landscape, with deep-rooted challenges across a broad socio-political spectrum, but I remain inspired by our end users, communities and colleagues across the sector.

We must lead from a position of positivity, so that we can find solutions and inspire brilliant minds to join the sector. We must listen to our communities through the organisations we work with, drawing on their lived experiences to shape the places that we live, work and enjoy. We must use the strength of our voice to influence the local, regional and national agenda. It is on us, and I hold myself accountable, to use procurement as an agent of positive change. This is why Westworks’ mission for the years ahead is to “harness the power of procurement to create a better future for everyone.

Ian Dorward, CEO

Harnessing the power of procurement

Work has already begun to bring our vision to life and make a positive difference through procurement.

We are:

• Supporting housing associations to prepare for the Future Homes Standard
• Helping schools maximise investment, including SEND funding
• Building partnerships across the public sector, such as our collaboration with SUPC
• Preparing new procurement arrangements under PA23

There’s no doubt that the next 20 years of public sector procurement will demand even more innovation, collaboration, and resilience—and we’re ready.