Government Purchase Card

HC Deb 19 October 1998 vol 317 cc931-2W

Mr. Clifton-Brown

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use(a) his Department and (b) its agencies are currently making of the Government Purchase Card; what savings he estimates are being achieved as a result; what plans he has to expand use of the card by his Department and its agencies; and if he will make a statement. [55180]

Mr. Straw

The Home Office is not currently using the Government Procurement Card (GPC), but it is being used in some agencies.

The extent to which the non-agency Department uses the GPC will depend on an evaluation of its benefits compared with a policy of obtaining consolidated invoices from suppliers with whom we conduct a high volume of transactions. Our preliminary findings are that by reducing the volume of invoices the Department can achieve savings similar to those obtainable from the use of the GPC, whilst retaining the benefit of the detailed management information which our suppliers provide with their invoices.

A pilot project to test the consolidated invoice option and its estimated savings began in August of this year and will conclude by March 1999. Further consideration will then be given to the scope for using the GPC in circumstances where its use would be the most cost-effective solution.

The position in the Department's agencies is as follows:

The Forensic Science Service introduced a procurement card in April 1996, but have since adopted the GPC. Some 60 cards have been issued and account for an average of 300 transactions a month, valued at £50,000 producing savings in excess of £10,000 a month. Up to a further 10 cards are expected to be issued.

The Prison Service is currently piloting the use of the GPC at three prison sites with a view to establishing a business case for possible implementation early in 1999. Full rollout would take approximately 18 months and would enable some 200,000 transactions a year to be processed using the card.

The United Kingdom Passport Agency and Fire Service College also have the use of the GPC under consideration.