Bill Crothers has taken over from John Collington as the government's chief procurement officer, with an extended job specification covering a range of commercial as well as procurement responsibilities.

The appointment, which follows Collington's departure for the private sector, has driven the merger of the existing procurement and commercial relationship functions in the Cabinet Office into a single Commercial Procurement and Relationships Directorate, which Crothers will run.

The Cabinet Office said the restructuring follows the publication of the civil service reform plan, which set out a clear need to improve commercial expertise in the civil service.