The positive role of the Council’s spending power in creating opportunities for Manchester residents – adding what is known as ‘social value’ - will be under the spotlight at a conference this Friday.
Council leader Bev Craig is the keynote speaker at the event, jointly organised by Manchester City Council and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES). She will be talking about her ambitions for the city and the role that social value can play in ‘Building Back Fairer.’
The economic and health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic which have hit some Manchester residents – including the over-50s, young people, members of ethnic minorities and low-income communities – disproportionately.
When the Council is awarding contracts for goods and services, it takes into account what a supplier will ‘give back’ to the city through jobs, apprenticeships and other opportunities for Manchester residents (especially those facing the most disadvantage); whether they have good working conditions and pay employees the Real Living Wage and what they are doing to cut their carbon emissions in line with the city’s wider environmental ambitions. Together these factors make up almost one third of the total score when bids are being assessed.
Newly-released figures for 20/21 show that the Council spent £416m with its top 300 suppliers of which 59% - some £247 million-worth was with Manchester-based organisations, more than half of that (50.9%) with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs.)
This spending enabled the creation of 2,303 jobs and 629 apprenticeships, as well as 2,703 opportunities (such as work placements or pre-employment training) to help 'hard to reach’ people overcome barriers to employment.
On top of this, suppliers to the Council supported 141,528 volunteering hours to support the voluntary and community sector in the city.
The conference will bring together a wide range of organisations including suppliers, voluntary and community sector organisations and business groups with the aim of sharing best practice and learning from each other.
Council Leader Bev Craig said:
“Ensuring that as much of our spending as possible remains within Manchester, supporting Manchester people – especially those facing the most disadvantage – is something that we’ve put right at the heart of our decision-making process.
“As the city recovers from the impacts of a pandemic which has heightened existing inequalities, it’s more vital than ever that we squeeze the maximum social value from every pound we spend on services and facilities for Manchester people.
“We hope this conference will highlight the progress that’s already been made and how suppliers and other partner organisations can work with us to keep driving this agenda forwards and help us tackle inequality.”
Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive of CLES, said:
“CLES are proud of the analysis we’ve done on social value with the City Council over the last 14 years. This work has helped to reshape the national debate on local authority procurement and its power to deliver wider benefits to communities. But while this work is in a good place, the reality is that our city isn’t – we face a massive recovery effort from Covid-19, we’re facing a climate crisis and cities across the UK are grappling with unparalleled crises in inequality, poverty and wealth disparity.
“The excellent work of councils like Manchester to build an ethos of social value and equity into all that they do must not only continue: it must stretch further to meet these challenges head on so that we can build a fairer future.”
The Building back fairer: the role of social value conference is taking place at The Yard in Cheetham Hill from 9am to 12.30pm on Friday 18 February 2022.
For further information on CLES' analysis of the Council's procurement spending in 2020/21, the most recent complete year, visit www.cles.org.uk/MCCSpend
CASE STUDY: SOCIAL VALUE IN ACTION Lee Fletcher
Lee Fletcher was homeless and feeling futureless, sometimes staying with friends, sometimes sleeping in a tent in places such as Chorlton Water Park and trying to move on from past struggles with substance abuse.
Through attending and subsequently volunteering at the Booth Centre, a community centre run with people affected by homelessness, he found a sense of belonging and a growing satisfaction in working with and helping people in recovery from addiction, work he continued by volunteering at a recovery hostel in north Manchester.
The Booth Centre put him in touch with charity Humankind, which Manchester City Council commissions to help people with complex needs in supported housing. Humankind has aligned its social value activities to the council’s priorities and looks to support people who are overcoming challenges onto a career path.
Lee, now aged 45, is now undertaking a two-year paid traineeship with Humankind with the goal of becoming a resettlement worker – helping people who have experienced homelessness to get back on their feet in new homes. Currently this involves shadowing staff and learning about the landscape, including the range of other support services to which people can be signposted. Soon he could have his own client.
Lee admits there is a huge amount to take in but he is loving it.
“I like my punk rock and for years and years that was me, ‘No future,’” he said. “But now I really feel like I’ve found something. There’s a real satisfaction in helping people when I’ve been through it myself. I’m working with a really diverse group of people, from university graduates to others with lived experience and I really feel like I fit in.
“I wake up feeling positive, that I have a purpose.”