Pioneered in places like Preston in Lancashire, progressive procurement – awarding public contracts in a way that deliberately targets local businesses and recirculates the public pound through them – can transform regional economies, increase both the competitiveness and profitability of SMEs, and support the creation of tens of thousands of well-paid jobs.
Welsh public bodies spend more than £8bn every year procuring goods and services – almost a third of total Welsh public expenditure. Currently, around 55% of this goes to Wales-based suppliers, as compared to the 79% of total procurement spend from key anchor institutions in Preston that has been retained locally through the Preston Model.
With a renewed and determined approach to progressive public procurement, we will:
- Aim to increase the level spent on procuring goods and services from Wales-based suppliers from the current 55% to at least 70% of total Welsh public procurement expenditure – creating upwards of 35,000 jobs.
- Ensure that contract bids are scored effectively not just on the bottom line, but on community impact, social value and how they build capacity in Welsh businesses and develop local supply chains.
- Review the way that ‘local’ is measured in public procurement policy, and make sure it more accurately reflects when and where public money is meaningfully being spent in Wales.
- Make it easier for Welsh SMEs to bid for public contracts, and work collectively to deliver on larger ones.
- Work with partners in local government to train a new generation of procurement officers in best practice in innovative procurement.