First chief procurement officer appointed

The Cabinet Office has confirmed the appointment of John Collington as the Government's first Chief Procurement Officer.

Collington most recently served as Head of Procurement for the Cabinet Office's Efficiency and Reform Group.

His new role will see him take on the challenge of procurement for the whole of central government, ensuring the Crown receives the best value for money by acting as a single customer rather than as individual departments.

The CPO position has been created from the merger of two existing position, the Head of Procurement in the Cabinet Office and the CEO of Buying Solutions.

Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude has also announced that David Smith, Commercial Director at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), will take on the role of Deputy Chief Procurement Officer for Government, alongside his current responsibilities at DWP.

Smith was last week named as one of several Crown Representatives, tasked with managing relationships with some of Whitehall's key suppliers.

Francis Maude said he was delighted with Collington's appointment, adding it would allow him to drive "real transformation in Government procurement, which in turn will realise significant savings for the taxpayer".

"It is both an honour and privilege to be appointed as Government's first Chief Procurement Officer," said Collington. "I look forward to working with David and my other commercial and procurement colleagues across Government in delivering our ambitious plans to transform Government procurement."

At the Public Sector Efficiency Expo in London in March,Collington told a packed conference hall it was a myth public sector procurement is in the Dark Ages: "We do a really, really good job, and we should be proud of what we do."