Information on Loughborough

Go Leicestershire!

Posted on 11/06/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council Highways, Transportation & Waste Management

8 June 2009

Go Leicestershire!

Leicestershire County Council swept to victory in the national Government Opportunities (GO) awards last week.

The County Council beat off stiff competition from the Department of Works and Pensions and authorities from London, North Yorkshire and Wales, to win the ‘Best Collaborative Procurement’ award.

The award was presented at a gala dinner on 4th June. It was won due to work done in the Highways Department which has formed an innovative partnership with other councils, called the Midlands Highways Alliance.

The alliance was set up to share best practice, to arrange bulk-buying of highways materials and carry out joint purchasing.

A ‘bank’ of four contractors have also been secured under the alliance framework, to carry out large and medium highway maintenance schemes. This saves huge amounts of time and money appointing new contractors each time.

Since it launched in January 2007, the Midlands Highways Alliance is estimated to have saved in the region of £1.4million. These savings are forecast to rise to nearly £11 million by 2011.

Matthew Lugg, Director of Highways at Leicestershire County Council and Chair of the Midlands Highways Alliance, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award. It is fantastic that the achievements of the Alliance have been publicly rewarded on a national level.

“Though financial savings is the primary target of the partnership, it is important not to forget the other opportunities it brings, such as major service improvements through shared knowledge, shared training, increased outputs and the creation of work for our own construction teams.”

For more information on the Midlands Highways Alliance, visit www.leics.gov.uk/mha

Notes to Editors

National Government Opportunities magazine, Excellence in Public Procurement Awards: www.goawards.co.uk

Funding to support the Midlands Highways Alliance was provided by the East Midlands Centre of Excellence, the forerunner of the East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.