The nine fire and rescue authorities covering England
have signed up to use a
Ministry of Defence framework agreement with BT
to buy networking services, in the sector's first move to
centralise IT procurement.
The agreement means individual authorities will be able to buy
any of the services already included in the MoD's £250m-a-year
Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service contract.
These include managed fixed-line telephony, managed mobile
services, flexible working support and videoconferencing.
The authorities will benefit from the MoD's buying power, in
what is one of the first examples of unrelated parts of the public
sector cooperating on shared services.
The deal is the first IT contract agreed by Firebuy, the body
set up to centralise the nine authorities' procurement.
Firebuy spokesman Colin Francis said, "Until now, procurement
within fire and rescue services has been fragmented and authorities
have not had the opportunity to combine their purchasing
requirements.
"A more strategic approach to procurement will support better
long-term financial planning for the sector and will ultimately
save money for reinvestment in front-line services."
Fire and rescue authorities join MoD's
networking framework
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