19 November 2010 | Adam Leach

The Scottish and Welsh governments plan to boost collaborative buying in the public sector.

In its budget statement, the Scottish Government revealed that it expects to save £61 million between 2011-12, with an overall saving of around £200 million over the next three years, by extending collaborative purchasing across departments.

The Scottish Future Trust, which will be responsible for improving the value of contracts and developing appropriate budgeting strategies, will receive £4.7 million funding.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Government advocated the use of collaborative procurement to help it meet a 10 per cent cut in its national budget over three years.

Its budget statement said joint buying would “complement efficiency work already being undertaken in public service organisations by developing and adopting national approaches to common challenges, such as procurement and asset management”.  

The Welsh Government also announced it would be extending the xchangewales website, currently used for national contracts, to local authorities next month.

The scheme has already been accepted by Denbighshire County Council and is expected to produce savings of about £1.5 million a year over five years.

Six more local authorities are considering joining the scheme.