Taxpayers save £412m through smarter buying

Almost half a billion pounds of taxpayers' money has been saved through a public sector procurement scheme, the government has claimed.

OGCbuying.solutions, which is part of HM Treasury, said in a report that a number of buying agreements and managed services have helped the public sector to keep procurement costs down, saving £412m in total.

The savings mean OGC beat its £400m target, set by ministers, through better market prices and negotiating.

The savings were made on £2.7bn of public expenditure.

Payment cards, e-sourcing applications and electronic auctions were cited as some of the reasons spend was reduced. OGCbuying.solutions also helped to land agreements with Oracle and postal organisations, which it said kept costs down too.

It also launched joint initiatives with the Disposal Services Agency and the Department for Environmental to "promote the sourcing of sustainable goods and services", it said.