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Press Release

New money for councils to improve the buying of elderly care and rubbish collections

8 December 2011

Funding of £100,000 has been earmarked for councils to spend on how they buy goods and services for areas including roads, rubbish collections, and elderly care.

The Local Government Association will be funding five new pilots and is asking councils to apply for the funding. It is hoped that by focussing on the highest spending areas, like waste and roads, the biggest savings will be found, allowing councils to maintain spending on high quality services which local people expect.

Councils are faced with budget cuts of 28 per cent in the current spending round, compared to an average across Whitehall of just 8 per cent. This financial climate means that councils should be looking to buy goods and services together, at lower cost, to ensure that frontline services elsewhere remain protected.

Cllr Peter Fleming, Chairman of the LGA's Improvement Board said:

“We are keen for councils to apply for this new funding to improve the services we know matter to the public the most, such as roads and rubbish collections.

“Councils are already the most efficient and trusted part of the public sector. However in the face of 28 per cent reductions in our budgets, we must continue to be innovative to find those savings and improve the services we run.

“Just recently the LGA found that shared services between councils have already saved over £150 million. These new pilots will help councils to improve the way they buy goods and services, and will add to those savings.

“The LGA would like councils from right across the country to apply to take part in this new pilot to bring further savings to the taxpayer.”

Applicants can bid for funding by emailing a short proposal to neil.rimmer@local.gov.uk. The deadline for bids is 12th January 2012.

Notes:

- There will be £100,000 in total available for the pilots. The five 'Big Win' procurement areas being given funding are: Social Care, Property, Highways, Waste and Corporate Services.

- The procurement workstream of the LGA's Productivity Programme led by Cllr Paul Bettison and Andrew Smith, Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council, has already produced the 'Quick' and 'Big Wins' strategies and a draft National Procurement Strategy.

- For more information regarding the criteria for funding, please see: http://www.local.gov.uk/procurement-capital-assets



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