Government seeks to lower costs through procurement shake-up

Crown Representatives will manage existing suppliers and encourage a wider pool of companies to bid for government contracts

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude (pictured) has outlined plans to change the way the government deals with major suppliers.

A new group of Crown Representatives will aim to generate economies of scale by ensuring the government acts as a single customer.

Currently different departments are able to sign up for the same service from the same supplier without central management involvement.

Maude said: "Our priority is to make sure the taxpaying public gets the best possible deal – and one of the ways of doing this is to ensure we're really using the scale of government to push down prices. That is why any dealings with our big suppliers have to be coordinated and our approach has to be strategic – the new Crown Representatives will make sure this happens."

The Representatives will also encourage companies who have not previously supplied services to the government to bid for public contracts.

The group will begin operating this month.