RCE Procurement Programme
The Regional Centres of Excellence Procurement Programme explained
What is it?
The Regional Centres of Excellence Procurement Programme (RCEPP) aims to unlock many millions of pounds in local government efficiencies by transforming council procurement.
It’s a unique range of services and products designed specially for councils to generate savings and drive the improvement of services.
The programme brings together tried and tested projects pioneered by councils and Regional Centres of Excellence with a range of new initiatives under one national work stream. So you stand to benefit wherever you are. In this way, it adds to the many savings initiatives your Regional Centre of Excellence may offer your council.
Why is it needed?
While local government has a good history of delivering efficiencies, the Government is intending to set a much more ambitious challenge over the coming years. With annual spending of over £40 billion on goods and services, local authorities will be required to identify inefficiencies and, in turn, make significant savings. At the same time, they will also be expected to improve their services.
Building on developments at a regional level, our research, the largest of its kind ever undertaken, has created a national picture of local authority spending and price benchmarking. This has revealed huge variations in the amounts councils are being charged for the same items – up to a staggering 2,000% in some cases. One council is paying twenty times more than another for exactly the same item.
Variations as extreme as this are rare but significant variations are common, as our analysis is beginning to show. This illustrates that there is considerable potential for driving down the cost of many goods and services which local government routinely buys.
Pick from a range of products to unlock your potential savings
We’re creating opportunities for councils to unlock savings in the £12 billion they spend each year buying everyday goods and services, from stationery to care placements, necessary to deliver local services.
Great deals…
We’ve researched the market to find great deals which you’ll find in our On the Money guides for energy, fleet, fuel, ICT hardware, print, telecoms and translation services.
And more great deals…
We’re joining up the contract databases held by Regional Centres of Excellence so that wherever you are you’ll be able to access hundreds of contracts to find the one that’s best for you.
And what’s more we’ll be launching our price comparison service via your Regional Centre of Excellence so you can compare and benchmark prices for many services.
Saving you time…
The paperwork for procurement exercises can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why you can access our document harmonisation service which offers standard tendering and contractual documents to save you time and money. And they are all legally watertight.
The latest best practice in procurement and commissioning…
Learn from the best in our series of How to be Successful guides covering the procurement and commissioning of management consultants, children’s services, social housing fixtures and fittings, construction frameworks, waste services and insurance.
Tried and tested tools…
Tools that are already saving councils millions and improving services in some regions will be available nationally so that all councils can benefit.
The national care costing tool is a sophisticated spreadsheet which allows councils to strike better deals for adult residential care packages. Around 50 councils are currently piloting it and are making real savings. While the children and young people’s regional commissioning framework, already live in the East Midlands, aims to boost services and drive efficiencies in a critical area of local authority work.
But you don’t need to wait for the Waste Information Network, the website for waste professionals seeking the very best advice on efficiency and improvement. Just click on www.win.org.uk
What about the professional buying organisations?
Another major development of the RCEPP is the decision by the five principal local government buying organisations, known as the Pro5, to work together to promote their deals and help local authorities migrate spending onto them. They are opening up their contracts to all local authorities, so that geographical location will no longer be a barrier to accessing outstanding deals. (Read related press release - Pro5 (PDF, 2 pages, 31KB) )
Who will benefit?
Ultimately the public will be the beneficiaries, as they will see better local services being delivered by more efficient councils. But the primary customers are local authorities, as the RCEPP is aiming to transform local authority procurement into a world class service. In addition, it is hoped that other public sector organisations such as fire and police services will also enjoy savings.
The programme director is working hard to ensure that all partners are involved in the process and that the programme is frequently reviewed and improved.
The team
Steve Holland, Programme Director - steve.holland@norfolk.gov.uk
Contact Tel - 01603 704 015