I think you'll find that the civil servants involved in procurement projects are generally paid up members of the Association of Project Management (APM) and as such are required to evidence continuous professional development. The problem occurs with the VSO revolving door churning out new incumbents every 24 months. The new kid on the block barely gets up to speed before the door revolves again. Those same VSO's are generally not members of the APM but rather make decisions behind closed doors based on service loyalty and dare I say it.... under the table agendas and wish lists.
It's easy to hit the civil service with all the procurement problems, particularly where the public image is that of bowler hatted Sir Humphreys. The problem rests with the constantly changing VSO's, each with their own agenda and no commercial nous, but each capable of overruling decisions made by professional project managers employed within the Civil Service.