26. March 2026

The information management mandate and why public sector clients still need to take it seriously

For public sector clients, the Information Management Mandate is still current government policy. It sits in Annex B of Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030, is delivered through the UK BIM Framework, is described as applicable immediately, and the same government document says public sector clients should comply with it as part of implementing the Construction Playbook.

This is about public sector clients, not everyone

This matters because the wording is often made too broad. The mandate is aimed at government clients and public works policy, not every private sector project in the market. The Construction Playbook is current Cabinet Office guidance for public works projects and programmes, and central government departments and their arm’s length bodies are expected to follow it on a comply or explain basis.

What the mandate is actually saying

In plain language, it says public sector clients need to do more than ask for BIM.

They need to:

Make sure procurement and contracts align with the UK BIM Framework
Put capability in place to fulfil the client information management function
Define the information they need for the organisation, project and asset
Specify that information properly in appointments and contracts
Receive, assure and store information through a digital mechanism
Apply proper governance to that information over time

The bit many clients still miss

The most important point is not the acronym list. It is the capability requirement.

Annex B says the client must have the capability to deliver and fulfil its information management function, either through people within its own organisation, people acting on its behalf, or a combination of both. That is a big point for public sector capital teams with limited in-house BIM or information management resource.

It is not just about writing an EIR

A lot of projects still treat information management as a document exercise.

That usually means:

An EIR is issued at tender stage
ISO 19650 is mentioned in the contract
The supply chain is left to get on with it
Problems only surface close to handover

That is not really what the mandate points to. The government wording goes wider than that. It expects clients to define their information requirements properly, put the right resource in place, and manage how information is procured, received, assured and maintained.

Why this matters on live capital projects

This is where public sector clients often get exposed.

Without client-side oversight during delivery:

Requirements are interpreted differently by different teams
Model and data quality can drift
Asset information is left too late
Handover becomes a clean-up exercise
Estates teams receive information that is harder to use in practice

That is exactly why live project support matters. A client-side BIM or information manager helps the capital projects team check that the right information is being produced during the job, not just chased at the end. This is fully consistent with Annex B because the mandate explicitly allows the client capability to be provided by people acting on the client’s behalf.

There is evidence this is still being applied now

This is not just an old policy document sitting untouched on GOV.UK.

The Department for Education’s January 2026 Exchange Information Requirements states that compliance with its full suite of information management requirements is required across its framework, and the document is structured around BS EN ISO 19650 information requirements, delivery plans, acceptance criteria and information management reporting. That is a good example of a current public sector client still applying this way of working in practice.

What public sector clients should take from this

The message is simple.

If you are procuring a public sector capital project, it is not enough to say:

We asked for BIM
We mentioned ISO 19650
The contractor is handling it

The policy direction is stronger than that.

Public sector clients should be asking:

What information do we actually need
Who is checking that it is being delivered
How is it being assured during the project
Will it support operations when the project is complete

Why this links directly to live project support

This is the gap live project support fills.

It gives public sector clients:

Independent oversight during delivery
A digital clerk of works for information
Better visibility of whether requirements are actually being met
Earlier identification of problems
More confidence in the final handover information

For me, that is the real value of the mandate. It is not just a policy reference for a tender document. It is a clear signal that public sector clients need capability, governance and day to day oversight if they want the right information at the end