Government publishes procurement spending comparison

THE amount of money spent by South Yorkshire Police on uniform, vehicles and equipment can now be easily compared with other forces across the country.

The Home Office has published spending comparison tables showing how much each force last paid for 20 common items, such as epaulettes, hi-vis jackets, utility belts and batons. The tables suggest a wide variation in spending across the country.

For example, South Yorkshire bought a fully kitted cell van in July 2013 for £19,868, while Nottinghamshire Police spent less than £11,500 per van when it bought 10 in June last year.

South Yorkshire bought 200 batons for £23.49 each in March, while other forces spent as much as £82. Police helmets also ranged from £28.90 to £43.20 across the country. South Yorkshire spent £33.70 per baton when it purchased 127 in January.

In a statement, the government said it wanted forces to “adopt a collaborative approach to procurement, not just because of the potential savings that they can achieve through buying collectively but also because of the operational benefits of standardising the items they purchase and officers use every day”.

Lee Tribe, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead on Procurement, said: “This release of data by the Home Office has helpfully highlighted areas of procurement where there are price differences that can be – and are being – addressed.”

Nevertheless, he warned that streamlining procurement would not be enough on its own to meet further cuts to the police service budget, which are expected to be between 25% and 40%.

Mr Tribe added that greater collaboration on procuring vehicles since 2012, as well as a new national uniform service, would deliver millions of pounds of savings.

The spending comparison tables are available on the police.uk website.