Dudley Council’s bid to save £15 million by clawing back goods and services cash

Millions of pounds are spent each year on building materials, maintenance contracts, construction sub-contractors and social care packages by the authority.

It is hoped the initiative will help to make around £4m in savings that have been targeted from the council’s general fund and millions more from the separate housing and school budgets.

Bosses say work on transforming procurement processes – the buying of services from outside the council – will also help achieve five per cent savings.

Leader Patrick Harley said it would be an ‘exciting move’ for the borough.

He said: “The council spends millions of pound each year on building materials, maintenance contracts, construction sub-contractors, social care packages and much more.

“By getting our house in order and improving our staffing structure and processes on procurement we can generate significant savings to ensure we have a sustainable budget moving forward.

“This is a very exciting move to ensure Dudley borough residents are getting value for money from their council when we are buying in goods and services from the private sector.”

It comes as an agreement was made at a Full Council meeting in March.

The original proposal was for an external commercial company to be appointed to drive out savings but now the changes will be made in-house instead.

An Invest to Save Budget of £200,000 will allow external interim support to be brought in – with an interim head of procurement taken on for a short period.

Councillor Steve Clark, cabinet member for finance, added: “The first thing we must do is ensure our own processes are in place so we will take on a procurement expert who will have experience in the commercial and local government sectors.

“This immediate action will ensure we have systems fit for purpose so that best value is guaranteed when we are taking on new contracts or renewing contracts.”