Two local authorities in Merseyside have been announced as new partners in a public sector shared procurement service.
St Helens and Knowsley Councils have made the decision to join their counterparts in Tameside, Rochdale, Stockport and Trafford as partners of the STAR Procurement service. So far, STAR has saved almost £50 million of taxpayer money when members have gone through the procurement of a wide range of supplies and services.
Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, Cllr Liz Patel, said:
“We are delighted to welcome St Helens and Knowsley Council to the STAR Procurement service. Through collaboration we have achieved some strong results and we are excited for the future, particularly with two new partners on board. Procurement is all about finding the best ways to boost local economies and asking our suppliers to be socially responsible when they do business with the public sector.”
Social value has also been a successful component of STAR, with more than £230 million wider social, economic, and environmental benefits being delivered over the course of the last few years.
Key benefits that are available to all STAR partners include:
- Economies of scale and savings through greater collaboration
- A high performing procurement service
- Strategic leadership and support
- A promise to drive social value and local spend
- Better recruitment and retention through ‘Grow Your Own’ policy, dedicated training and investment in staff
Lorraine Cox, Director of Procurement at STAR, added:
“We are really looking forward to working with St Helens and Knowsley Councils. STAR has proved to be successful and highly performing and an approval for growth is now in place for all six Councils to move forward together and to deliver an even bigger impact.
“We will be spending the next few months mobilising and getting ready to ‘go live’ with the six-partner STAR on 1st October. This is a great opportunity to show our two new councils how we can deliver excellent services, secure value for money, drive greater collaboration and create opportunities to businesses and communities within our regions.”
Image credit: iStock
