CLES News

Doubling the Bang for Your Council Buck

10th March 2010

he report, ‘More Bang for the Public Buck: A guide to using procurement to achieve community benefits’, shows how councils can use their spending power to make local economies more resilient, communities more sustainable, and to minimise environmental impacts. It considers barriers preventing councils from getting the most from their procurement and draws upon practical examples of measures they are using to overcome obstacles. These measures include:

Building strong relationships with local suppliers
Training staff
Advertising locally through a procurement portal
‘Contract unbundling’ to enable smaller suppliers to compete
Reviewing procurement processes from tendering to contract management and making them more flexible
Including specific ‘community benefits’ clauses in contract evaluation

CLES chief executive, Neil McInroy, said: “Imminent public sector cuts make it imperative that we start sweating the public sector pound to maximum effect. We in the local government community can do more to ensure public resources cradle and nurture the local economy through supporting local businesses, social enterprises, the voluntary sector and supply chains. Progressive procurement is the solution; this research and guide shows you the way.”

The guide, launched at the Conservative Councillors Association conference in London on 5th March, includes a checklist to help formulate a strategic approach to delivering community benefits from public spending and summarises legal considerations that must be adhered to.

Copies of ‘More Bang for the Public Buck: A guide to using procurement to achieve community benefits’ are available at £20.00 for APSE member authorities and £40 for non-members. For more information, and to purchase copies, see: http://www.apse.org.uk/research.html