As it prepares to introduce a new agreement that reunites the two halves of a deal that was split in half four years ago, CCS has lengthened the incumbent arrangement

The Digital Outcomes 6 framework has been extended for a third and final time to give public sector buyers three additional months to complete procurement procedures – and to ensure the Crown Commercial Service can provide a “seamless” switch to the replacement deal.

First introduced in summer 2022 for an initial term of two years, Digital Outcomes 6 has since been lengthened twice: by a year and then another nine months, taking its end date to March 2026. The extensions were, in large part, attributed to government’s decision to delay the introduction of measures enshrined in the Procurement Act – that passed into law in 2023. The legislation has now been in full effect for almost a year.

Nevertheless, CCS recently opted to sign off a further three-month extension of Digital Outcomes 6, moving its concluding point from 27 March to 27 June.

A newly published contract notice from the procurement agency states that the extra time is “to allow for customers to complete… procurements already underway before framework expiry”.

“Additionally, this is also to facilitate a seamless crossover period to support the movement to a replacement framework that delivers the optimal customer and supplier experience,” the notice adds.

There is no increase to the previous £813m estimated value attached to the deal.

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The framework that will replace and supersede the soon-to-conclude arrangement – Digital Outcomes and Specialists 7 – is scheduled to come into effect sometime in the next couple of months.

With an anticipated worth of £14.4bn, the new agreement will initially run for a term of 18 months, with extensions of up a further 18 months. This would take its end date to spring 2029.

The incoming framework also represents a reunification of the two core strands of the framework – digital outcomes and digital specialists – which were been split into two separate deals in 2022.

First launched in 2016, the first five versions of the arrangement were dubbed Digital Outcomes and Specialists, and enabled public-sector buyers to access support for digital projects, as well as offering the ability bring in additional staff in tech roles.

The sixth iteration saw the framework split into Digital Outcomes 6, and the larger Digital Specialists and Programmes which, with an estimated price tag of around £4.8bn, is intended to help public bodies deliver major transformation projects.