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A GOVERNMENT review of the National Procurement Strategy for English fire and rescue services has delivered a sobering assessment of procurement issues and raised doubts about the long-term future of the Firebuy agency.
Issued at the end of June, the Communities and Local Government (CLG) review found there is no consensus in the fire and rescue sector on how national procurement should be carried out. It concludes that fire services have no sense of ownership over processes, with the result that national procurement agency Firebuy has failed to get wide stakeholder support.
While Firebuy has delivered savings, it cannot demonstrate the benefits that its contracts bring over the alternatives, says the review.
As part of the review, CLG proposes that Firebuy continues to deliver the national procurement function over the next year or so, implementing several changes recommended by the review.
During this time, a clearer picture is expected to emerge on a number of medium- and long-term options – ranging from Firebuy continuing with a modified structure, to the national procurement function being moved into a new national body for the fire and rescue service or into CLG
The summary of findings and recommendations from the review of the National Procurement Strategy and Firebuy is available from: http://www.communities.gov.uk/
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