The Buying Agency is to be the first of three executive agencies to join the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the organisation being set up next month to oversee central government procurement.
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The Buying Agency is to be the first of three executive agencies to join the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the organisation being set up next month to oversee central government procurement.
UK haulage firms need to be more energy efficient, a survey by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has revealed. Only half of lorry capacity is being used and energy savings could be made by cutting the amount of time refrigerated trailers spent loaded and stationary, it said. The study measured 46 road logistics firms against five key performance indicators.
The 10 per cent cut in prices expected to follow implementation of the Reform of Electricity Trading Arrangements (Reta) is “conservative”, Anna Walker, director-general for energy at the Department of Trade and Industry, told a recent Energy Information Centre (EIC) conference in London.
Scotland’s new parliament will show its hand on industrial strategy on 14 June with the launch of an action plan to develop “clusters” of companies in key sectors. A semiconductor plan will be followed by strategies for food, biotechnology and, possibly, oil and gas.
Gas shippers and suppliers are among five sectors most at risk from a failure to deal with the millennium bug problem. Sir John Bourn, head of the government’s millennium task force, gave the suppliers a “red rating”, which indicates a severe risk of material disruption.
The first major hospital developed under the private finance initiative (PFI) has probably worked out to be more expensive than if public money had been used, the National Audit Office (NAO) has reported.
The Department of Social Security’s (DSS) 20-year private finance initiative (PFI) deal with the private sector to provide much of their office accommodation is likely to deliver savings of £560 million, according to a report by the National Audit Office.
A government survey of small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) has found that 77 per cent of their managers are unaware of the new Competition Act, while 21 per cent know very little about it.
Trevor Young
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Peter Marsh Gower, £69.50 Successful planning, execution and conclusion of contract negotiations can contribute directly to corporate profitability, says Peter Marsh in the third edition of his guide for managers.