Contractors face tough day of bargaining with government

Balfour Beatty and Carillion are among the major government suppliers facing a tough day of bargaining with Francis Maude tomorrow.

According to Sky News, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude is holding discussions with major suppliers tomorrow to try and bring their prices down. The companies include Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Cisco, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG.

In a statement Maude said: “Although renegotiating contracts in this way had never been done by Government before, it has proved to be a success for all sides involved, particularly the taxpayer. Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have already been signed and we expect more to be signed over the coming weeks.

“When this first process is complete it is likely to deliver savings running into hundreds of millions of pounds. But, it is not just about the money and that is one of the reasons why we have launched this new phase, involving around 30 more suppliers. It is about changing the way government does business over the long term.

“During this stage of the process we’re going to be looking really closely at the way companies provide services to government and at what we can do to ensure we establish government as a single, more efficient customer.”