STAR Procurement Welcomes Tameside Council

Tameside Council has joined Rochdale, Stockport, and Trafford Councils in becoming a partner in the shared procurement service, STAR Procurement.

Tameside Council joins STAR Procurement

(Left to right): Steven Pleasant (Chief Executive, Tameside Council), Lorraine Cox (Director of STAR Procurement) and Cllr Bill Fairfoull (Deputy Executive Leader, Tameside Council)

Established in 2014, STAR has saved over £20 million of taxpayers' money when procuring a wide range of supplies and services for its Councils' use and for their local communities. Nearly a thousand contracts, worth £1 billion have been secured by the STAR Procurement team.  The team has delivered value for money when negotiating a wide range of contracts, including sexual health, insurance services, and road and highway repairs.  

Councillor Bill Fairfoull, Deputy Executive Leader for Tameside Council said: “STAR Procurement shows that sharing services, expertise, and resources delivers results. We are excited by what STAR will be able to deliver with us and our partners”.

The suppliers who deliver these contracts can be from the public, private, voluntary, or community sectors. Over 500 employment opportunities have been created since the service started and the STAR Councils aim to create more local jobs and support local businesses across Greater Manchester. They have recently launched a ‘Local Investment’ campaign in a bid to offer more opportunities for local businesses to compete for Public Sector contracts.

Councillor Mike Cordingley, Executive Member for Finance at Trafford Council, and Chair of STAR Procurement Joint Committee has welcomed the new member:  “We are thrilled to welcome Tameside Council to STAR Procurement.  We are excited about our future direction and the results we have produced, and will achieve, through collaboration. Procurement is so much more than putting contracts in place. It’s about trying to ensure that we find ways to boost local economies and ask our suppliers to be socially responsible when they do business with us and for us.”

Another key part of the procurement worth of any supplier is the Social Value they offer to the local communities of the STAR Councils. Any bidder for a contract has to satisfy the STAR team and the Councils that their service will offer social, economic, and/or environmental benefits.

Lorraine Cox, Director of Procurement at STAR said, “We are delighted that Tameside will be joining our other three Councils and we look forward to working with them and showing how procurement can be used to deliver opportunities to local businesses and more efficient services to our communities”.

Anyone interested in becoming a supplier can find more information on our website.

Posted on Monday 3rd September 2018