Public Servant Lifestyle

£1 billion deal to cut costs and carbon emissions of government vehicles.

The new deal has been designed to save the taxpayer £100 million and to help the government meet its sustainability targets.

Under the arrangement government cars and vans will become cheaper and cleaner over the next four years. Fifteen vehicle manufacturers will be providing vehicles to thirty-eight government departments and organisations, in one of the largest ever collaborative procurement exercises in the UK public sector.

Taxpayer

By joining together, the departments - led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) - have managed to secure what they believe will be a better deal for the taxpayer, saving £100 million on 78,000 vehicles over the next four years.

The deal, which will be open to the entire public sector, will allow organisations to replace their existing fleets with greener, cleaner vehicles at a reduced cost, in line with the government's target for reducing carbon emissions from its vehicles by 15% by 2010/11. The DWP alone is forecast to save up to £5 million on the cost of its fleet and to cut CO2 emissions by around 4,500 tonnes.

Lord Hunt, minister at the DWP, said: "I am pleased that the efforts of DWP, OGC and departments across government have resulted in this groundbreaking deal. It is an excellent example of collaboration that will not only contribute to the Government efficiency goals but will also help the public sector to hit its targets on vehicle emissions."
Treasury

John Healey, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: "Deals like this one reflect the government's commitment to procure in a way that is both value for money and sustainable. It provides a clear and important example of how we can cut the environmental impact of our actions while also providing a better deal for the taxpayer."

Government departments participating in the deal can see the full financial cost and carbon footprint of their vehicle needs using a ground breaking model developed by the Office of Government Commerce. With the help of the model, departments can plan future vehicle purchases, including switching to cleaner, cheaper to run models, to achieve their target environmental and efficiency savings.

As well as delivering lower per-vehicle prices for the public sector, the deal will also save government millions by eliminating costly multiple tendering procedures. Currently public sector organisations operate individually negotiated contracts with car manufacturers.

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