Westminster leads new tri-borough services procurement

The tri-borough programme between Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea councils is set to launch a wide-ranging procurement of services from external providers.

Westminster City Council is leading the programme with a total of 20 London boroughs signed up to the procurement framework. Any council signing up to the framework will be able to let a contract through which they can access the successful bidders’ services without going through a new procurement process each time.

Known as Managed Services, the framework involves the joint procuring of services for a range of work areas including finance, procurement and human resources, e-sourcing, property asset data management and business intelligence.

Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for customer services and transformation Cllr Melvyn Caplan said: “The fundamental aim of the programme is to reduce the tri-borough councils’ existing costs and increase efficiency through this shared procurement framework, which will save the individual authorities having to reinvent the wheel each time they outsource services.

“The new platform will ensure the best quality services at the most competitive price, allowing the tri-borough authorities – or indeed authorities across London – to deliver significant savings and improve their services.”

The framework went out to tender yesterday and is open to providers across the UK and Europe.

The procurement will be let in four separate lots: HR and finance; e-sourcing; property asset data management; and business intelligence. The framework will last for four years and the contract, once procured, will last for five years with an option for a three-year extension.