The government’s nationally directed procurement body for the fire and rescue service – Firebuy – is to end next Spring as part of the government’s abolition of almost 200 quangos.
The Communities and Local Government department is looking to transfer Firebuy’s procurement functions to other suppliers or professional purchasing organisations that can offer best value for money, and is seeking expressions of interest.
In July, the National Audit Office criticised Firebuy for providing poor value for money, saying it had cost twice as much to set up and run as the total savings it claimed to have made.
But in a statement sent today to chief fire officers and procurement managers, Firebuy’s chair Peter Holland and chief executive Terry Brewer said the government recognised the achievements the body had made in raising the professionalism of fire service procurement, and that CLG was keen to ensure the framework agreements already in place are picked up by any new organisation.
“The calculations we have done show that, with some adjustments to the way they are presently managed, the frameworks should be self financing and continue to benefit the fire service in future years,” they say. “On this basis and based on the expected level of interest in running the frameworks, we want to provide you with assurance that work on managing and running the frameworks will, as a result, continue.”
Also commenting on today’s announcement, chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Brian Coleman, said: “This is a very sensible outcome for the fire and rescue service. We never bought anything using Firebuy in London and fire authorities must be free to independently manage procurement of services and equipment.”
