Councils ‘spend less than a third locally’

Published on 24/07/2012 00:00

Less than a third of money spent by councils goes to local businesses, a new survey has revealed.

Research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that councils spent on average 31 per cent of their procurement budget with businesses in their area – compared with 54 per cent in Northern Ireland.

The business group wants councils to analyse and publish details of their spending.

FSB Scottish policy convener Andy Willox said: “The Scottish Government’s upcoming Sustainable Procurement Bill is a real opportunity for us to decide what we want Scottish public procurement to do.

“Over and above any other priorities associated with this legislation, we believe that Scotland needs to use its public spending power to advance our economic ambitions.”