A new buying solutions agreement has been launched which is estimated to deliver £100 million worth of savings over four years to public sector fleets.

Compiled by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, the agreement delivers vehicle lease and fleet management solutions from which public sector fleets operated by government departments, local authorities, emergency services and the NHS can buy.

The new agreement gives fleets access to a wide range of lease vehicles including cars, vans, 4x4s, alternatively fuelled vehicles such as hybrid and electric, buses, coaches, trailers, municipal vehicles and converted vehicles.

Additionally, it provides access to fleet management and associated services including service, maintenance and repair, while sale and lease-back, and salary sacrifice options are also available.

For the first time the new agreement consolidates the expired vehicle lease and fleet management agreements, which finished in May, 2015, and November, 2013, respectively, into a single agreement with a wider choice of suppliers.

A CCS spokeswoman explained: “We found that our customers were increasingly incorporating fleet management into their operational leasing contracts anyway and having a single agreement provides a simplified, more efficient route to market for customers and increases competition, maximising value for taxpayers.”

The Government says that the savings achieved against the approved benefits methodologies for the previous vehicle lease and fleet management agreements in 2014/15 were £34.4m against a spend of £244m.

The CCS says that more than 90,000 vehicles were leased through the previous agreement and the spokeswoman said: “It is anticipated that more public sector fleets will buy through the new agreement.”

She continued: “A saving per vehicle classification has been established using quotations obtained from the framework lease suppliers through the CCS fleet portal.

“The overall monthly saving is then calculated by applying each saving figure to the relevant vehicle involved. The agreement has the potential to deliver savings in excess of £100m over four years.”

The vehicle lease and fleet management agreement builds on the CCS vehicle purchasing agreement announced earlier this year.

That agreement runs until December 2017 and has been billed as a ‘large commercial arrangement’ in the fleet market for both central Government and the wider public sector, with the potential for more than 35,000 vehicles a year to be purchased with a value of some £553m.

Meanwhile, the new vehicle lease and fleet management agreement is claimed to deliver a wide range of benefits to public sector fleets including the option to nominate a preferred local dealership for delivery and access to technology, such as telematics, to improve fleet utilisation and manage risk effectively.

In addition, fleets have the ability to further reduce pricing by taking part in e-auctions and the opportunity to improve fleet performance and costs through audits and fleet optimisation.

The three-year agreement, plus the option of a one-year extension, is split into three lots.

Lot 1 focuses on the lease of cars, vans, 4x4s, alternatively fuelled vehicles such as hybrid and electric vehicles and converted vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes; Lot 2 caters for the lease of commercial vehicles of 3.5 tonnes and above, including buses, coaches, trailers and municipal vehicles; Lot 3 focuses on fleet management services, including accident and claims management, fuel card management and driver support services.

A total of 19 vehicle leasing and fleet management companies have secured a place on the agreement: 12 on Lot 1, five on Lot 2 and 13 on Lot 3.

Lot 1 suppliers are: ALD Automotive, Alphabet (GB), Arnold Clark Finance, Arval UK, Daimler Fleet Management, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, Inchcape Fleet Solutions, Leasedrive, LeasePlan UK/Automotive Leasing, Lex Autolease, Lookers Leasing and Volkswagen Financial Services. Lot 2 suppliers are: Dawsonrentals Truck and Trailer, Fraikin, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, LeasePlan UK/Automotive Leasing and Ryder.

Lot 3 suppliers are: Alphabet, Arnold Clark Finance, BT Fleet, Fleetcare (PSCSM), Fraikin, GMP Drivercare, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, Inchcape Fleet Solutions, Knowles Associates Total Fleet Management, Leasedrive, LeasePlan UK/Automotive Leasing, Lex Autolease and Ryder.