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Procurement – are you buying into it?
As the new government slashes local authorities’ budgets, Patrick Troy suggests they brush up on their procurement skills
W
e all purchase goods and services in our daily lives. So why does it prove so diffi cult to do it at
work? Over the past few years the rules of procuring – a word which was unheard of in this context 20 years ago – have changed unrecognisably. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a
surprise. How public authorities spend their money has been under scrutiny for many years and rightly so. But what we have seen over recent years is procurement become more complex, more demanding, and as a result there are far more opportunities for mistakes to be made. T ere have been some high profi le
examples where procurement has become a major issue for some authorities and a cause célèbre for the
media. I won’t go into detail here but I am sure there will be more such cases as authorities focus on driving better value for money and, in particular, explore the government’s preferred approach to procurement, which is for local authorities to share services between themselves.
So what can be done? In many larger
authorities procurement departments have sprung up, creating an expertise in this fi eld. We in the parking sector must embrace those departments, understand the issues better and, most importantly, get them to see how our sector needs simple but thorough routines to procure services effi ciently. T e BPA’s Equipment
Manufacturers and Suppliers Special Interest Group has already started to raise this issue and we are
inviting procurement specialists to its next meeting to see if we can start to unravel this particular conundrum. T e intention is to make buying things simple again. Getting value for money –
probably the most important objective any purchaser has – shouldn’t be that diffi cult.
LEE’S LOOKING AFTER THE LOCALS Lee Rowley
Westminster Council’s new cabinet member for parking and transportation is Councillor Lee Rowley. For some people this role may seem a poisoned chalice but Rowley bubbles with enthusiasm for the task ahead: ‘It’s a great privilege to work with the parking service team. It is an industry I am new to, but I am really looking forwards to getting stuck in. ‘Westminster has
4 JULY 2010
been a leader in parking innovation, pay by phone being an obvious example, and it is also a council where the offi cers constantly challenge the status quo to initiate change.’ Rowley says he
brings a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to the role and as a resident of Westminster (who has received a parking ticket!) he feels he can speak with authority on matters that affect the local population. He sees parking
as a ‘moveable feast’ with new challenges presenting themselves all the time. ‘Fundamentally, my role is about balancing the needs of visitors, businesses and the residents and making sure that everyone has a good experience.’ The advent of the 2012 Olympics will present logistical challenges. Ensuring London is showcased to the world, while enabling Londoners to go about their
business, will be the combined aim of Rowley’s team, the London Olympic Games Organising Committee and Transport for London. On the question
of that infamous tender process, (see page 10) Rowley said that while it had not gone as smoothly as it could have, a line should be drawn under that episode and the emphasis should be on delivering an improved service.
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