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23 Jul 2012
A report released this morning has shown councils in Scotland are less likely to spend their money locally than those elsewhere in the UK.
The study by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed local authorities north of the border spend around 31 per cent of their procurement budget with organisations within their boundary.
This compares to more than 50 per cent in Northern Ireland, and almost 40 per cent in Wales.
The Scottish Conservatives are backing the FSB calls for the Scottish Government to use an upcoming bill to improve that statistic.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Gavin Brown MSP said:
“It is important that the public sector gets the right balance between price quality and the impact on the local economy.
“This report suggests, compared to other parts of the country, this balance is not quite right.
“Local economies across Scotland are not benefitting from public investment to the level they should be or deserve to be.
“I am calling on the Scottish Government and all local authorities to review their procurement spending and look at what progress can be made to ensure local economies benefit more.”
For more details, visit:
http://www.fsb.org.uk/News.aspx?loc=pressroom&rec=7779
