Leicestershire Police is part of the biggest vehicle procurement project in police and emergency services history which see’s 34 organisations working together to save over £7 million.
This ambitious plan pulls together the vehicle buying power of police and fire and rescue services from across the country from Devon and Cornwall through to Lincolnshire.
The success of the project is down to the expertise and professionalism of the procurement and fleet departments across Police and Fire and Rescue Service organisations.
As a result nationally, over 3,000 vehicles will be ordered by the organisations over the next two years, with 1200 of them being built in Britain and 130 of them coming to Leicestershire Police.
As the biggest vehicle collaboration of its kind in the UK, it is estimated that the overall spend resulting from this contract is in excess of £100 million when taking in to account the ‘whole life’ costs of the vehicles (the initial purchase along with fuel, maintenance, parts and repairs). The group will make savings of between six and seven million pounds.
Breaking that down locally, Leicestershire Police can expect to save approximately £366,000 on the purchase of new vehicles over the next couple of years. This saving could double if the contract is extended beyond the initial two year period.
The contract is for the full range of police vehicles, from the ‘beat’ cars, through to the high performance cars used for traffic and motorway policing. Suppliers were selected from a list of companies on the national government framework agreement, specifically for ‘blue light’ services.
David Wilkin, West Midlands Police’s Director of Resources and the national policing lead for the procurement of vehicles commented: “A vehicle purchasing collaboration between police forces and partners on this scale has never been seen before and I am delighted to say that it has been a huge success in terms of the savings made and how well the organisations have worked together.
“The success of this group builds on the achievements of a large scale vehicle procurement project led by West Yorkshire Police earlier in the year.
“While cost is clearly a driving factor, the most important aspect is that these vehicles need to be the safest ones available for our staff and the public.
“How we buy and operate them has to represent good value to the public. We are committed to ensuring that where possible the associated costs will be invested in the region, whether that is fuel purchases or using local garages and businesses for parts and repairs.
“All suppliers in the process had to demonstrate their working relationship with local dealerships to ensure that going forward, maintenance of the vehicles such as warranty repairs are carried out locally, ensuring we continue to support the local economy.”
Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Sir Clive Loader said; ““All the emergency services obviously need vehicles so it makes absolute sense to pool our buying power wherever we can to get the best possible value for money on behalf of the taxpayer. I would hope to see the principle extended into other areas of commonality.”
The group has selected the following suppliers:
Cars: General Motors UK Ltd t/a Vauxhall, Volvo, BMW.
Vans: Ford, General Motors UK Limited t/a Vauxhall
Posted on Monday 9th May 2016