Spending by Falkirk Council with local businesses has increased to £74m in the past year, an increase of £5m on the previous year.
The figure represents around one third of the Council’s total procurement spend of £227m in 2019/20, and comes as Falkirk Council publishes its new procurement strategy and reports on the last three years of its existing procurement direction.
Economy and jobs
Some of the key outcomes in the area to date include:
- £28m being spent with Third Sector organisations
- £500k savings have been made through the procurement process
- £79m has been spent on care services and £57.5m on construction and maintenance
- £89m was spent on ‘small’ suppliers
- The national Living Wage has been maintained by Falkirk Council throughout the period of the 2017-20 Procurement Strategy
- The procurement team has hosted support clinics for 50 local businesses to help them develop their business through working with Falkirk Council and the wider public sector
Improvements have also been made with advances in online invoicing and contract management making for a more efficient process.
A total of 43 work placements, 39 apprenticeships and 16 new jobs have also been created locally over the past three years as a result of procurement benefit clauses within contracts.
Local suppliers
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council said: “It’s our duty to get the best value possible for the Council from our spending each year. We also have a very strong desire to work with local suppliers wherever possible to support sustainable economic growth within the Council area.
“In the past year we spent nearly £80m with local businesses and this figure has been growing every year. We’re keen to help local suppliers and would urge them to get in touch with our Procurement team who can explain how we can do even more business with local companies and suppliers.”
The procurement team can be contacted here: falkirk.gov.uk/procurement