The Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Finance provided an update on the Corporate Procurement Strategy, which had been agreed by the Cabinet on 2 June 2011 (minute 8 refers) and re-presented on 13 October 2011 (minute 156 refers) to align resource strategies. He commented that the Strategy was an enabler of the corporate efficiency targets agreed for 2011/2012, which were reflected in the 2011/2012 budget as –

·  £2m from the annual procurement efficiency programme

·  £0.5m from a review of the top 50 contracts

·  £0.2m from a review of administrative support costs

In response to comments from Members in relation to shared services, the Director referred to ongoing consultation with other Councils in the Merseyside Region to promote the adoption of collaborative contracts which increased the potential for savings through aggregation. He proposed to circulate an update to Members direct on work undertaken within the City Region and agreed also to include an update with regard to a programme of training and workshops to improve Member awareness of procurement issues.

Resolved – That the Procurement Strategy be noted.