The government, and particularly the Treasury, prioritises budgetary control but too often, once initial contracts have been awarded, costs escalate without adequate cost or quality control. One cause may be that civil service cuts have left departments without the skills and experience needed to deal with private sector suppliers. Whatever the cause, however, it is clear that improving government performance on procurement, and ensuring suppliers deliver good value for money, would bring big benefits. Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee, who has extensive experience of overseeing public expenditure will lead a discussion on how government procurement could be improved to provide better value for money.