LGA Governance


Agenda item

Agenda item

Fire and Rescue Service Procurement

Melanie Walsh, Head of Procurement at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service will be attending the meeting to discuss the report.

 

Minutes:

Ann Millington, Chief Executive, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, updated Members on CFOA’s response to DCLG’s Fire and Rescue report on procurement aggregation and collaboration, which had highlighted the need for further work on how the sector procured goods and services.

Ann outlined that there had been numerous attempts in the past to procure services and products collectively, but that these had been driven by central government, CFOA was proposing a sector-led approach towards better procurement practices. 

 

The report recommended that the Fire and Rescue Service should agree a common classification of goods and services and develop a dashboard showing the price of goods, how they perform and in what conditions certain goods are most effective. One of the next steps suggested by the report was to work more collaboratively across the sector; to aid this CFOA had produced a draft procurement strategy.  It was essential that Chairs of Fire Authorities worked with their Chief Fire Officers to drive joint procurement forward.

 

Members welcomed the report and made a number of comments in discussion including:

 

          Procurement was a key issue for all Fire and Rescue Authorities however it was important that each authority retained a sense of identity.

         The sector could follow the examples from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in getting the sector to work more collaboratively.

          Outsourcing was a good way to get certain expertise to help with certain issues, however it would be better to keep as much in-house as possible.

          It was important to make joint procurement attractive to those who used it.

           Members were keen that Firebuy was not simply recreated and that this was a sector-led initiative, though members did state that Firebuy had been useful in working towards standardising the sector.

         Joint procurement was already being trialled in the North-West, for example all local fire authorities wore the same uniform.

 

Members sought assurances that the best price for products and services would be secured following this model. Ann clarified that the guide would allow each authority to purchase the equipment that suited them best.

 

Decision:

 

Members noted the report and presentation from Ann Millington.

Supporting documents: