A new agreement has been reached by OGCbuying.solutions, an agency of the Office of Government Commerce, and BT which looks set to save millions of pounds in telephone call costs for a range of public sector bodies, right down to local schools. The two have signed a new Premier Value tier contract, under which OGCbuying is committed to a minimum annual spend of 10 million pounds and all nominated bodies will be able to benefit from favourable call package prices.

A similar commitment over the past four years is estimated to have saved the public sector more than 40 million pounds. More than 570 public customers have participated in the arrangement, making it one of OGC’s flagship deals. Individual organisations have reported reductions in call costs of between 10 and 30 per cent. The new agreement will allow the public sector to benefit from further savings on national call rates. Existing customers will benefit from the new savings automatically.

Paul Weiser, Senior Frameworks Manager for OGCbuying.solutions said it strived to gain best value and collaborative procurement allowed it to negotiate advantageous rates. “The savings generated assist public sector organisations in their continuing drive for increased savings to help improve front line service delivery,” he added.

BT Portfolio Director Jim Smart said IT and communications represented a significant investment for the public sector and the new deal showed savings could be made even for smaller public sector organisations such as a local school.