Future procurement capability reviews (PCRs) are to be carried out by the departments themselves, it has been announced.

PCRs will move to the self-assessment model this autumn, with departments expected to complete their own reviews by the end of next year.

A spokesman for the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which carried out the initial review of each department between 2007 and April this year, said the change was happening because departments "wanted PCRs to be less intrusive on their day-to-day operations".

The announcement was made today as the office published a round-up of the 16 PCRs completed in the first wave.

OGC will be offering optional support for departments - such as organising supplier surveys, or leading the six-month stocktake reviews - and the second wave of self-assessed reviews is expected to be as rigorous as the first.

The spokesman said departments would have to get capability review results assured by an independent third party: either the department's existing internal auditor, a senior procurement official from another department, or the OGC.

Departments will also have to write improvement plans, as with the first wave of reviews, and will be required to act on those plans.

The OGC sees the PCRs - a spin-off of the Cabinet Office's more general capability reviews - as a major success, claiming that the process has led departments to appoint new senior departmental commercial staff, create commercial strategies where none existed before, and more regular board discussions of procurement issues.

OGC chief executive Nigel Smith said the programme had "already delivered enormous benefits", but warned that the improvements would have to continue if departments are to make £5.7bn of procurement savings by 2011-12, as set out in the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP).

"It is vital that momentum is maintained, especially through developing the procurement skills base that currently exists," he said in a statement.