Plymouth's public sector increases local spend by millions

An extra £53 million has been spent buying goods and services from local suppliers after a promise made by the Plymouth Procurement Forum to buy local.

Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Community Homes spent over £65 million with local small and medium sized business in 2012/13 compared with £12.3 million the previous year, delivering an increase of almost £53 million.

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Finance at Plymouth City Council said: “This is an amazing result and we have all delivered much more than expected, at times reaching nearly 70% over our target spend.

“It really does show that that with commitment to collective buying powers we can take control and make a difference to the people and businesses in our city. We all want to keep this momentum going!”

The Forum is a partnership of public and private sector organisations in the city and is chaired by Steve Scott, a director at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce. It was set up in 2009 to provide increased opportunities for local businesses, help businesses and our local economy grow and attract inward investment, in turn creating more jobs for the people in the city.

It gained momentum last year when all partners signed a charter to reinforce their commitment.

All organisations in the forum increased their spend with businesses with a PL postcode. Plymouth University, Plymouth Community Homes and Plymouth City Council recorded a total spend of £84 million in 2012/13, an increase of £32 million.

Simon Denham, Head of Procurement and Sustainability at Plymouth University said: “Supporting local suppliers is central to both the University’s enterprise and sustainability missions. Through partnership and projects such as Sell2Plymouth, we can generate new wealth and jobs in the city and region by sourcing locally, in an ethical and sustainable manner.”

Karen Grannum, Head of Strategic Procurement at Plymouth Community Homes added: “We always look to work with local suppliers where possible. Spending money in Plymouth boosts the local economy and creates jobs.

“We are regularly approached by suppliers hoping to work with us and, while we may not always have opportunities at the time, we log all calls and interest and keep them on file.

“It’s important that we are all working together to achieve this – if we don’t recognise and talk collectively about working for Plymouth, it will never happen.”

Businesses interested in supplying goods and services to the public sector and finding out about current tendering opportunities will need to register on the Sell2Plymouth website at www.Sell2Plymouth.co.uk.