Police forces wasting millions by not buying kit jointly in bulk
Public procurement is a blessing and a curse this story demonstrates it at is most useful potentially, however try being a small provider of services to the public sector….
Police forces who fail to bulk-buy their uniforms, handcuffs, boots and other standard equipment in collaboration with other forces should face financial penalties, MPs on the Westminster spending watchdog have warned.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says police forces are still wasting millions by not buying jointly in bulk. They say the price paid for basic kit such as standard-issue boots has varied from £25 to £114, and from £14 to £43 for handcuffs.
Margaret Hodge, the PAC’s chair, said this was the case even where the items being bought were identical: “It cannot be right that prices paid for the same type of high-visibility jacket varied by as much as 33%. Forces can make big savings through bulk-buying of items, but have been unable to agree on the most simple things, like how many pockets they should have on their uniforms,” she said.
The Home Office has put in place a major drive to persuade forces to collaborate over the way they spend their £1.7bn procurement budget each year, but it has failed to make much headway.