Councils praised for SME procurement efforts
THREE North West councils, Bury, Halton and Manchester, have been highlighted as being among the best for small firms to do business with.
The North West local authorities were judged to be among the 10 best councils to do business with and were selected for their innovative procurement practices for small businesses by a panel which included industry experts and local and central government representatives.
Speaking at a reception in Downing Street, local government minister Brandon Lewis said: ““Small businesses are the heartbeat of the British economy, central to creating jobs, stimulating economic growth and innovation. But all too often we hear they are being excluded from procurement opportunities through overly bureaucratic processes.
“It’s now time for all councils to act and make sure they cut back on unnecessary red tape which push up costs and make it harder for small firms to get on.”
Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s enterprise adviser, said: “Taking the red tape away from the public sector procurement process will give an enormous boost to entrepreneurs and a big reduction in costs to Government.”
Mike Cherry, national policy chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Despite the scale of cuts to local authority budgets, councils still have enormous spending power. With the economy still some way from any meaningful recovery, it is essential this power is used to the full to support local economies.”
In total councils are responsible for procuring £58bn of goods and services . Lord Young recently recommended making it easier for small businesses to bid for £230bn a year of public sector contracts.
