皇冠体育app

As part of the drive to ensure Whitehall operates in a more business-like fashion, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has today announced that Bill Crothers will be appointed as the government鈥檚 Chief Procurement Officer with a broadened remit covering a range of commercial as well as procurement responsibilities.聽

皇冠体育app appointment will strengthen the government鈥檚 ability to match best practice in the private sector by merging the existing procurement and commercial relationship functions in the Cabinet Office into a single 鈥淐ommercial Procurement and Relationships Directorate鈥�, which Bill will run. 皇冠体育app restructure follows the publication of the which set out a clear need to improve commercial expertise in the Civil Service.聽

Until now, Bill Crothers, who has extensive private sector experience and is a chartered accountant, has been the Cabinet Office鈥檚 Executive Director of Commercial Relationships.聽 In this role, Bill led on the government鈥檚 relationships with its key suppliers, including the programme of supplier renegotiations that has recently delivered millions in savings from companies such as Oracle and Microsoft.聽

Francis Maude said:

We鈥檝e made impressive progress on this agenda over the past 2 years, including saving 拢1.7 billion on procurement and over 拢800 million through contract renegotiation in 2010 to 2011 alone. This is the next step in operating in a more commercially savvy way.

Given Bill鈥檚 background and track record I am delighted that he has agreed to take on this expanded role as the government鈥檚 Chief Procurement Officer.

Bill Crothers said:

I am delighted to be taking up the role of Chief Procurement Officer and leading government鈥檚 drive to become a more demanding and commercially astute client.

Only two weeks ago we met with 20 of the government鈥檚 biggest suppliers, representing about 拢15 billion of annual spend, to set out the next phase of the government鈥檚 commercial programme. It was clear that they welcome the commercial reforms we have put in place and the opportunity to table further ideas.

皇冠体育app remit of the newly merged directorate, under Bill鈥檚 leadership, will include:

• 皇冠体育app government鈥檚 strategic supplier programme, including supplier performance policy. This programme manages commercial relationships across government to ensure suppliers are delivering the best value for money and contracts are well-managed. 皇冠体育app programme is the first of its kind in the public sector and focuses on around 40 of the government鈥檚 top suppliers.
  • 皇冠体育app Crown Representative network. 皇冠体育app government now has a team of skilled negotiators () from the private and public sectors who act as representatives of the government and interact with the key suppliers, ensuring government acts as a single client. 皇冠体育appse negotiators are responsible for the ongoing programme of supplier renegotiations, which was first introduced in 2010 and resulted in 拢800 million of savings from contracts in the first 10 months alone.
  • Government procurement. This includes procurement of all goods and services, including ensuring adequate access to SMEs for government contracts and centralised procurement through Government Procurement Service.
  • Development of the procurement profession and capability across Whitehall. Bill Crothers will become head of the procurement profession across Whitehall, and his directorate will be responsible for the new Commissioning Academy, designed to elevate the status of both commissioning and procurement, and develop a cadre of professionals that are progressive in their outlook on how the public sector uses the resources available.
  • Bill will be supported in his role as head of the profession by Sally Collier, as Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, and David Shields, as Managing Director of Government Procurement Service.

Notes to editors

1.聽This strengthens commercial capability by ensuring that the one directorate will cover the commercial spectrum - from supplier relationships and contract negotiation to detailed policy implementation and day-to-day procurement.

2.聽Bill has extensive private sector experience as well as having worked in the Home Office and Cabinet Office.聽 Bill is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, CIPS and the British Computer Society.

3.聽About Cabinet Office efficiency agenda:

Tight controls on spending and a business-like approach to government have led to cash savings of 拢3.75 billion from May 2010 to April 2011 and the gvernment anticipates a further 拢5 billion in savings for the 2011/12 financial year. See:

4.聽About Crown Representatives:

In 2011 the Cabinet Office introduced a new approach for how government engages with its key suppliers, introducing the to act as a focal point for particular groups of providers looking to supply to the public sector.

Crown Representatives manage either a small pool of government鈥檚 key strategic suppliers, or represent a particular sector of the market.

Additionally, some Crown Representatives address and represent the needs of specific groups of providers, such as SMEs, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises, and support and foster the creation of new commercial models for delivery of public services.

皇冠体育app full team is:

• Martin Bellamy - Director National Offender Management Service, Change and Information and Communication Technology
• Vincent Godfrey - Director of Procurement, Ministry of Justice
• Ann Pedder - Commercial Director, Procurement, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Brendan Peilow - Head of Government Banking Service, HM Revenue & Customs
• David Thomas - Commercial Director, HM Revenue & Customs
• David Smith - Commercial Director, Department for Work and Pensions
• Bill Yardley - Head of Projects, Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Ministry of Defence
• Stephen Allott - Crown Representative for Small and Medium Enterprises
• Stephen Kelly - Crown Representative for New Business Models
• Michael O鈥橳oole - Crown Representative for the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sector

For more detail on the network and supplier renegotiation programme see .