Government calls for greater collaboration between police forces in England and Wales to drive down procurement costs
The Home Office believes that new data on police procurement highlights the need for police forces to push opportunities to collaborate in order to deliver greater value for money for the taxpayer. Since 2010-2011, forces have saved in excess of £290 million through better procurement and collaboration, but new information released by the Government shows that there are still many areas where forces could work together to identify further savings.
The release of this latest information is part of the Government’s transparency agenda to make the police more accountable to the public and provide information on the prices paid by police for 18 essential items including forensics, telephony and office supplies. Forces are also asked to report on the extent to which they’ve collaborated to purchase these items.
The data indicates that high levels of collaboration are generally associated with lower prices and that forces can, and should, use this information to help identify further saving opportunities.