To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to page 131 of the 2009 Budget Red Book, what (a) improvement in procurement and (b) reductions in the cost of goods and services there will be to achieve the proposed £12.5 million of efficiency during the 2007 comprehensive spending review period; and if he will make a statement. (271456)

The improved procurement project is generating value for money savings from reductions in the costs of goods and services purchased by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) during the Comprehensive Spending Review period. The savings are achieved through better management of our expenditure by utilising the following techniques:

Collaboration with other Government Departments (OGDs) and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Buying Solutions

Mandatory use of corporate FCO contracts to achieve better value for money

Benchmarking

Better market analysis and a more strategic approach to procurement overseas

Benefits will be realised in the main through utilising OGD and OGC contracts and re-tendering processes for major contracts and commodities which assess value for money and efficiency as part of the process. This is based on a number of factors including unit prices and balancing quality measures to ensure that service levels are maintained or improved. In addition costs savings will be realised through improvements in the on-going contract management.