By Vivienne Russell
14 April 2011
Whitehall is to overhaul its procurement activities with a single group of ‘crown representatives’ negotiating deals for all departments.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said yesterday that he wanted to use the scale of government to push down prices. ‘Any dealings with our big suppliers have to be co-ordinated and our approach has to be strategic – the new crown representatives will make sure this happens,’ he said.
Contracts with more than 50 suppliers have already been renegotiated and Maude that during these discussions the value of a single representative, acting on behalf of all Whitehall departments, became apparent.
‘It brought benefits for both sides – bringing a complete picture of a supplier’s portfolio of contracts to the discussions and able to identify opportunities for synergy and cost removal,’ Maude said.
The new team of crown representatives includes David Thomas, commercial director at Revenue & Customs. Thomas said: ‘Government is a complex and large buyer of goods and services and it is entirely appropriate to adopt the crown representative model in order to manage the top end of our supply chain effectively.’
The other crown representatives announced today are:
· Martin Bellamy, information and communication technology and change director, National Offender Management Service
· Bill Crothers, commercial director, Home Office
· Vincent Godfrey, procurement director, Ministry of Justice
· Ann Pedder, commercial director, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
· David Smith, commercial director, Department for Work & Pensions
· Bill Yardley, defence infrastructure organisation, Ministry of Defence
They join the previously announced appointments of Stephen Allott, responsible for improving the government’s business relations with smaller suppliers, and Stephen Kelly, who will support the mutualisation of public services.
