Scottish government to save AUD$29 million over water procurement deal

The Scottish government is hoping to save AUD$28.9 million over the course of a three-year deal for water and waste services after signing a national contract for these services for the first time.

“The national tendering exercise has encouraged competition to clinch the best possible deal for taxpayers,” Scotland’s Infrastructure minister Keith Brown said.

“Delivering savings of this kind has never been more important, as we deal with the consequences of the biggest reduction in public spending imposed on Scotland by any UK government,” Minister Brown said.

The $353 million deal, which was awarded to Business Stream, begins on 1 April.

The contract provides a number of services to reduce water usage across the public sector including meter reading, leak detection and repair, water saving devices and benchmarking services.

Since 2008, the Scottish Government has set up and implemented procurement strategies for national commodities on behalf of all the country’s public sector organisations.

It has already, for example, delivered national procurement contracts for the bulk-buying of gas and electricity that meet over 98 per cent of public sector demand, while providing annual savings of around $16 million for electricity and $8 million for gas.

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