Government claims £45m saving on procurement cards

Expenditure on government procurement cards went from £387m in 20009-10 to £342m in 2010-11, according to the Cabinet Office. It said the reduction in spending on the payment charge cards, used by the public sector for purchases, was achieved as part of its commitment to drive out unnecessary costs and make the UK a leader in transparency. Government procurement cards are aimed at helping the public sector to pay for low value items in a less costly and secure way, allowing public organisations to settle payments in full at the end of each month. The cards are also seen as a more efficient way of purchasing, as they are designed to ensure suppliers are paid more quickly than usual. The Cabinet Office has said that these cards have been particularly beneficial for small and medium enterprises with cash flow problems caused by late problems. The department has also recently introduced new guidance on using the cards. Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, said: "We said that we would reduce spend on government procurement cards and today we have the evidence. In the last year spend on these cards has been cut by around 10% across government." The department has now opened up data on departmental government procurement card transactions over £500 for the first quarter of this financial. It has also released two other data sets on: • Non-consolidated performance related pay data for departments and their agencies for 2010-11. • And workforce management information from central government departments to be accessed on Data.gov.uk. Maude added: "Today's releases show just how serious we were when we said we were determined to become a world leader in transparency. Like previous releases today's datasets on government procurement cards, performance related pay and monthly workforce information are unprecedented and will give the public another way of scrutinising how government spends its money and holding us to account." This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.