NAO report claims some colleges are under-prepared and need to set more efficient procurement practices

The National Audit Office has told colleges to become better clients so that a multi-billion pound programme to improve further education facilities can be a success.

In a report published today by the government鈥檚 spending watchdog, progress on the 拢4.2bn worth of college projects around the country is commended. But colleges are advised to improve their abilities as clients so that more visibility can be granted to upcoming projects.

The report claims that some colleges are under-prepared and need to set efficient procurement practices, bringing contractors on board earlier during the planning of redevelopment.

In addition, more should be done to ensure lessons are learned from completed projects by carrying out thorough post-project evaluation of schemes, and making sure that proposals are chosen based on whole-life cost, rather than just the price to build.