Almost a million pounds of public money has been saved by the new all-Wales contract from the Welsh Procurement Initiative in buying IT equipment. The framework agreement for PC’s, laptop computers and printers was awarded via an e-auction earlier this year.Figures from the Welsh Procurement Initiative show that the agreement is making a significant contribution towards helping the Welsh Assembly meet its target of an annual three per cent efficiency saving in procurement costs. Reports say that in only two months, public sector organisations working in collaboration had made real savings.

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A scheme has been launched to cut the amount of money that the National Health Service spends on hiring agency staff. The Reducing Agency Costs Project, which brings together 30 NHS Trusts from across England, has been welcomed by Health Minister Lord Warner.The project, which is led by the South West London Strategic Health Authority and NHS Professionals, will drawn on good practice from across the country to reduce spending on agency staff by participating NHS Trusts.

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By Clive Grace Reproduced by permission of the Public Management and Policy Association. The audit and inspection of public services over the past few years is a story of rapid growth leading to an increasing burden, which in turn has provoked resistance which led to sweeping retrenchment in the scale and costs of these activities. The author sees audit and inspection becoming the fourth arm of governance following Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. He sets out a vision of how this might come about.