Manchester City Council spend is building local wealth

In 2016/17, Manchester City Council spent £445.6 million with its top 300 suppliers (by value of contract). CLES has analysed this procurement spend to establish where this money has gone and to understand its impact on the Manchester economy and residents. CLES has been working with Manchester City Council since 2008 to analyse its annual procurement spend and to improve its procurement process so that it addresses local need and brings greater benefits to Manchester’s residents and businesses.

CLES has worked with the council’s procurement officers to improve the procurement process, so that the social and environmental value of their activities are considered alongside cost, for instance when selecting suppliers. Additionally, Manchester City Council and CLES have worked in collaboration with the supply chain to change their behaviour to deliver social and environmental value; the direct and indirect impacts have included increased job creation and spend in local areas, as well as increased engagement with community initiatives, among other things.

The new findings identify the key changes that have been undertaken in procurement policy and process, and the benefits achieved for the local authority, the supply chain, and the economy and residents of Manchester as a result.

Key findings:

• Manchester City Council spent £445.6 million with its top 300 suppliers in financial year 2016/17;
• The proportion of spend with Manchester based organisations has increased from 51.5% in 2008/09 to 71.7% in 2016/17 ;
• The proportion of procurement spend with SMEs was 59.4% in 2016/17, up from 46.6% in 2014/15.

In addition to the direct benefits, the core findings from the 2016/17 analysis were that in the last year, the top 300 suppliers to Manchester City Council created:

• An estimated 68,862 hours of volunteering & community sector support activities;
• An estimated 705 apprenticeships in Manchester;
• An estimated 1,160 jobs in Manchester;
• 423 employment opportunities for ‘hard to reach’ individuals.

Matthew Jackson, Deputy Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies said:

“CLES has been pleased to work collaboratively with Manchester City Council over the last ten years to progress their procurement process. Our objectives have always been to understand where procurement spend goes, shift the behaviour of procurement officers and influence the supply chain; all for the benefit of the Manchester economy and its residents. We are delighted to see the change which a more progressive approach has enabled in local economic, social and environmental terms.”

Councillor Carl Ollerhead, Labour Councillor for Moston who chairs the City Council’s Ethical Procurement Sub Group and will chair of Monday’s event said:

“At a time when Local government budgets are shrinking, reducing the impact of how we as a Council can stimulate the economy, these new figures are really encouraging, and are testament to the collaborative work between Manchester City Council and CLES. We are committed to continually enhancing our social value policy to help more of our resident share in the success of the City.”

MCC spend analysis 2016/17

Read more.