Cabinet Office Mystery Shopper Scheme

On 11 February 2011, The Prime Minister and The Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude announced a radical package of measures to open up the way that Government does business and to make sure that small companies, charities and voluntary organisations are in the best possible position to compete for billions of pounds worth of contracts.

After listening to the views of hundreds of small business owners, the Government has taken action to ensure that small firms and organisations, which it considers to be vital to the economy and promoting growth, are no longer shut out of procurement processes because of excessive bureaucracy and petty regulation.

And as part of that, the Cabinet Office has developed a Mystery Shopper Scheme so businesses can continue to tell Government where there are still issues.

On 9 March 2012, Francis Maude announced an extension to the service to include issues relating to unfair practices in the supply chain. Suppliers can use this service anonymously to escalate issues about problems in Government supply chains to the Cabinet Office.

We are committed to publishing the results of the investigations into the cases received. The documents here set out the issue and the resolution of the cases investigated so far.

You can provide feedback to us through an online form, or you can email the service desk on 4999@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk directly. Please try to provide us with as much information about the issue as you can if you choose to email us.

The role of the Mystery Shopper Scheme is to:

Provide a clear, structured and direct route for suppliers to raise concerns about public procurement practice when attempts at resolving issues with a contracting authority or a first tier supplier have failed.

Provide reasoned feedback to enquirers on their concerns.

Help the Cabinet Office identify areas of poor procurement practice so it can work with the contracting authority to put them right, and help ensure similar cases do not arise in future.

Take action to reduce the likelihood of similar issues arising in other authorities.

To hold Government to account on progress towards delivering the 11 February 2011 and 9 March 2012 announcements. 

What bodies are covered?

Central civil Government department (e.g. Defra, DFID, DWP, BIS, DFT, etc.) and the MOD

We will work directly with these departments to address feedback from suppliers about these departments or any of the bodies for which they are responsible.

The wider public sector (e.g local authorities, NHS trusts or education establishments)

We will work with a designated lead authority for the NHS who will consider the feedback provided and take it up on our behalf, for other wider public sector bodies, we will work directly with these to address feedback from suppliers.

Prime contractors working on Government contracts

We will work with contract managers in departments and prime contractors to address feedback about unfair practices in the supply chain of Government contracts.

Before submitting feedback to the Cabinet Office

You are required to read the terms set out in our scope and remit. This sets the outcomes that we may be able to achieve in relation to your concerns, by submitting feedback for the Mystery Shopper Scheme to take up; you are accepting the scope and remit of the service.