Manchester City Council shows off its buying power
20 October 2010
New research into the benefits procurement spending brings in economic, social and environmental terms to Manchester will be revealed at a special event hosted by Manchester City Council.
The research, completed by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) will highlight where the city council's spend is going geographically; the extent to which suppliers are re-spending in Manchester and their ethos towards the environment and tackling worklessness.
Using spend figures from 2008/2009 the research showed that more than 5,000 Manchester residents were employed as a direct result of Manchester City Council's spend upon its top 300 suppliers and contractors, with £183m being spent with local suppliers.
It also showed that more than 85% of the contracts for goods and services from its top 300 suppliers were with Greater Manchester firms, with 51% being spent with suppliers in Manchester.
The event, taking place in Manchester Town Hall on Monday 25 October 2010 will include addresses by Councillor Bernard Priest, executive member for finance at Manchester City Council, Matthew Jackson, Head of Research at CLES, Adrian Sigsworth Regional Director for G4S, and Sinead O'Conner, project manager at YASP (Young Adult Advice and Support Group.)
The event launches an independent report by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies which looked at the impact the supply chain has on the local and social economies and said:
"It is fair to say that Manchester City Council's procurement practices have a significant impact on the local economy."
Procurement spending was found not just to benefit Manchester's economy as a whole, but individual wards, with the highest procurement spend on companies based in Ardwick (around £43m) the city centre (£41m) and Hulme (£39m).
Councillor Bernard Priest, executive member for finance at Manchester City Council said: "The figures show that we are indirectly employing thousands of people in Manchester through our supply chain as well as contributing significantly to the local economy and this is something we will strive to continue."
The event is accompanied by a new publication by CLES 'the power of procurement'. For a copy please contact us. Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) Express Networks, 1 George Leigh Street, Manchester M4 5DL Tel: 0161 236 7036.
