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Northern Ireland Office: Mobile Phones

Answer

All public procurers are required to seek value for money (VFM), normally through fair and open competition. Authorities must also comply with their legal obligations under the EU procurement rules and adhere to the EU treaty principles. Equality in the context of the Question refers to the principle that all suppliers be treated equally; ie opening supply opportunities to all, regardless of their status and reducing barriers to their participation in public procurement. VFM is defined as the optimum combination of whole-life costs and quality to meet the user requirement. Accounting officers have a responsibility to deliver VFM for the Exchequer as a whole. In areas of common spend such as commodity goods and services, including mobile phone services, collaborative procurements, carried out on behalf of a range of public bodies, are likely to result in improved value for the Exchequer and often for individual authorities, compared with individual, department-specific procurements. There are a number of pan-government framework agreements already established, including the OGCbuying.solutions frameworks for mobile telephony, which departments should always consider before an independent procurement is originated as they usually lead to better VFM. OGC's new on-line policy and standards framework guides departments through the key principles and processes of public procurement.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

3733; 702 c19-20WA

Session

2007-08

Related items

Northern Ireland Office: Mobile Phones
Monday, 12 May 2008
Written questions
House of Lords

Subjects

Cost effectiveness Equality Government departments Procurement Office of Government Commerce

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk