Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl has signed-up to the biggest vehicle procurement project in police and emergency services history. The deal involves 34 organisations and could save over £7 million.
The ambitious plan pulls together the vehicle buying power of police and fire and rescue services from across the country from Devon & Cornwall through to Lincolnshire.
The success of the project is down to the expertise and professionalism of the procurement and fleet departments across the organisations.
Mr. Surl said,
“This is a great example of how public bodies can work together to get best value for taxpayers’ money. Buying vehicles in this manner on this scale has never been seen before and it shows the benefit of organisations collaborating. It means we can get the best vehicles available at the best price.
“The Constabulary has also been trialling a number of electric cars over the last couple of years and the first of those will be joining the fleet early in the 2016”.
As the biggest vehicle collaboration of its kind in the UK, it is estimated that the overall spend resulting from this contract is in excess of £100 million when taking in to account the ‘whole life’ costs of the vehicles – the initial purchase along with fuel, maintenance, parts and repairs. It is estimated the group will make savings of between six and seven million pounds.
David Wilkin, Director of Resources for West Midlands Police and the national policing lead for the procurement of vehicles said,
“How we buy and operate them has to represent good value to the public. We are committed to ensuring that where possible the associated costs will be invested in the region, whether that is fuel purchases or using local garages and businesses for parts and repairs.
“All suppliers in the process had to demonstrate their working relationship with local dealerships to ensure that going forward, maintenance of the vehicles such as warranty repairs are carried out locally, ensuring we continue to support the local economy.”
The contract is for the full range of police vehicles, from the ‘beat’ cars, through to the high performance cars used for traffic and motorway policing. Suppliers were selected from a list of companies on the national government framework agreement, specifically for ‘blue light’ services.
