3 March 2011 | Rebecca Ellinor
The Scottish government hopes to save more than £18
million over the course of a three-year deal for water and waste water
services.
It is the first time a national contract has been signed
for these services and it’s estimated that savings of £18.6 million to £24.5
million will be delivered throughout its lifetime.
Infrastructure minister Keith Brown said: “The national
tendering exercise has encouraged competition to clinch the best possible deal
for taxpayers. Delivering savings of this kind has never been more important,
as we deal with the consequences of the biggest reduction in public spending
imposed on Scotland by any UK government.”
The £220 million deal, which was awarded to BusinessStream, begins on 1 April.
The contract provides a number of services to reduce water
usage across the public sector including meter reading, leak detection and
repair, water saving devices and benchmarking services.
Since 2008, the Scottish Government has set up and
implemented procurement strategies for national commodities on behalf of all
the country’s public sector organisations. It has already, for example,
delivered national procurement contracts for the bulk-buying of gas and
electricity that meet over 98 per cent of public sector demand, while providing
annual savings of around £10 million for electricity and £5 million for gas.
