Procurement statistics: a short guide

Overall figures

There are two main sources for data on how much the public sector is spending on procurement in total across the UK.

The Whole of Government Accounts

The Treasury’s Whole of Government Accounts is possibly the most useful source overall for looking at how much the public sector buys from the private sector. 

The latest data is currently for 2021/22, when £329 billion was spent on procurement.

Procurement accounts for about a third of public sector spending.

Public Spending Statistics

The Treasury’s Public Spending Statistics and Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) give more recent figures but include the procurement of goods and services by one public sector body from another.

Gross spending on public sector procurement was £407 billion in 2023/24 across the UK.

There was an increase of £19 billion or 5%, compared with the previous year, not adjusted for inflation. 

Published budgets suggest procurement spending increasing by around 10% in 2024/25.  Note that these figures are based on government budgets which do not cover the full public sector, unlike the figures quoted above.  They are also not adjusted for inflation.

Other useful sources

Other useful sources include for procurement statistics include:

• Cabinet Office figures on Central government spend with SMEs.

• European Commission studies on procurement with foreign suppliers – the most recent is Study on the measurement of cross-border penetration in the EU public procurement market.

• Figures derived from published public sector transparency data, for example from Contracts Finder. Organisations analysing this data include Spend Network and Tussell.

• The National Audit Office.