The public sector has endured massive cuts during the past couple of years as the Government looks to balance its books.

Budgets have been slashed and fleet departments have been charged with cutting their cloth accordingly.

No stone has been left unturned in their quest and with the Government signalling that austerity will remain centre stage well into the next Parliament, fleets will be expected to find further savings in the future.

Public sector fleet decision-makers at the latest Fleet News roundtable, sponsored by Alphabet, discussed the issues they are facing and what tactics they are using to tackle them.

What are you doing to keep a tight lid on costs?

Graham Hine, University of Warwick: We used to have a policy where we would award supplier contracts for three years, but now we’re awarding them for four or five.

We’re really focusing on service delivery and cost, and we will opt for a longer contract if we can see value in negotiating that over a longer period.

There’s also a cost in going out to tender, but if we’re awarding longer contracts we’re saving money because we’re not repeating that process so often.

Larry Bannon, NHS Blood and Transplant: It’s something we look to do ourselves. It not only gives you the benefit of continuity with your suppliers, but it also allows those suppliers to make their own investments into delivering that contract and improving the service they can offer you.

If they know they’re going to be with us for only three years, they’re going to be limited in what they can invest.

Richard Flint, North Yorkshire Police: What you’ve got to do with longer contracts, however, is make sure you get the specification 100% right. If you get it wrong on a short-term contract it’s not so much of a problem.

Do longer contracts lend themselves to a multi-supply or a sole-supply set-up?

Larry Bannon: It all depends on how the contract is set up. But if you want a longer-term contract to achieve greater savings and efficiencies, whether sole supply or multi-supply, you need to get it right at the very beginning.

If my supplier has failed, I’ve failed. There’s no point nailing your supplier down on price. We’ve got to provide best value for the public purse, but that’s not necessarily going to be least cost in every single contract.

Clive Buhagiar, Alphabet: A lot of people we deal with, particularly on the larger frameworks, feel they’ve got to go for the best price, but there are many situations where best price is not best value.

Graham Hine: It comes down to your evaluation criteria, which should be built in before you sign the contract.