Welsh Government
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Public sector to save up to £25m a year through new National Procurement Service for Wales
The new service, which will be hosted within the Welsh Government will be used to set up and manage contracts for common and repetitive spend across the public sector in Wales. It will also develop local supply chains to make sure Welsh businesses benefit from public sector spend.
Common and repetitive goods and services comprise about 20 – 30% of the total public sector procurement expenditure of £4.3 billion and include items such as stationery, office furniture, professional services, IT hardware and software and fleet.
Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant said:
"Establishing the NPS is a significant step forward in transforming public services in Wales. The public sector spends over £4billion each year on goods and services and we must make sure that we get maximum value for this money.
"The Public Service Leadership Group, with the support of Value Wales, has developed a compelling business case for creating a means of public bodies coming together to buy common and repetitive goods and services.
"The NPS has received considerable support with over seventy organisations including Local Authorities, Local Health Boards, Universities and Colleges, Fire Authorities, Police Forces and the Welsh Government itself already signed up.
"All of these organisations can now look forward to getting the best value for money when buying common goods and services."
Finance Minister Jane Hutt added:
"As public bodies face tighter budgets we have to look at new ways of finding savings. That is why I am announcing £5.92m from the Invest-to-Save fund to create the NPS.
"By procuring centrally through the NPS the public sector could save up to £25m a year. It will also free up the wider public sector to focus its resources on commissioning and procuring more efficiently the remaining 70-80% of public procurement spend.
"The NPS will follow the best practice set out in the Wales Procurement Policy statement published last year which will not only make it easier for suppliers to engage but will also provide crucial opportunities to develop local supply chains with local Welsh businesses."
Related Links
Public Service Leadership Group
