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Seminar: Outsourcing and Contract Procurement
Tue 28 Feb 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
IoD calls for restructuring of public sector procurement
Tue 23 Mar 2010
Billions of pounds could be saved every year if public sector procurement practices are overhauled, experts have stated.
According to the Institute of Directors (IoD), about £220 billion a year is spent on public sector procurement.
This, it said, works out to about 0.75 per cent of global GDP and a third of all government expenditure.
As a result, the IoD has stated that public sector procurement spending needs to be less fragmented.
The organisation said changing to a more integrated system would take less than 12 months and could potentially save at least £25 billion a year.
Miles Templeman, director general of the IoD, insisted that in the current economic climate, immediate action has to be taken to reduce public expenditure.
He added that while many politicians have acknowledged the need to make the public sector more efficient, they have not outlined how this will be done.
Richard Tinham, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood Solicitors, commented: "Real savings in public procurement costs are to be had through a combination of significant changes in approach and collaborative buying, or shared services.
"That often requires a brave individual to think outside the box and commit to a new way of addressing the organisation's requirements.
"However, once someone has demonstrated that results can be achieved in that manner others tend to follow."
The recommendations come ahead of today's Budget announcement from chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling.
