Procurement is concerned with securing goods, works and services. The process spans the whole cycle, from identification of needs through to the end of a service or the end of the useful life of an asset and its disposal. It is concerned with securing goods and services that best meet the needs of users and the local community in order to help achieve our key priorities. It supports the commissioning of services and supports work on developing markets where appropriate.

Benefits of Procurement

The status and importance of procurement in the public sector continues to grow and there is increasing pressure to improve procurement performance for a number of reasons.
Most importantly:

• procurement has a critical role to play in delivering strategic objectives and improving the quality of services delivered to the public
• savings realised through improved procurement can be channelled into priority services or reducing each partners net capital and/or revenue expenditure
• local authorities are open to legal challenge under public procurement regulations (based on EU directives) and are accountable for achieving value for money.
• Local government is under increasing pressure to deliver services in the face of reduced funding from central government. Effective procurement is one of the key ways to achieve “more with less”