Spend 4 Plymouth

We’re going to keep our pounds in Plymouth where possible and maximise the wider benefits of our spending to the city’s economy, society and environment.

10%

increase in Council spending with local suppliers over the next two years

A new Plymouth Supplier Directory

Maximising social value to benefit the city’s economy, society and environment

What are we going to do?

We're going to spend more locally where possible and use our spending power to support and grow the local economy by committing to increase our spending with local suppliers by 10% over the next two years. This target aims to provide 280 additional jobs and generate an additional £8.20 million GVA (Gross Value Added) for the Plymouth economy.
We're going to maximise social value when making decisions on how we spend our money, to benefit society and environment as well as our local Plymouth economy.
We're going to join forces with other major Plymouth organisations to create a collective approach to local procurement.
We'll launch an open-source online platform where local suppliers can advertise their capacity and capabilities, creating a local purchasing directory that city companies can use.

What have we done so far?

Increased local spending: The Council spent around £40 million more with local businesses in the 20/21FY compared to the previous FY. This means we have secured an additional 907 jobs and invested an additional £22.34 million GVA into the Plymouth economy. That is 627 jobs and £14.14 million GVA ABOVE the target.

Doing business with more local suppliers: Of the almost 3,700 individual suppliers the Council did business with in 20/21, 63% of those were local suppliers. This is just over 650 more local suppliers than the previous financial year

Engaged the local business community: Hosted engagement sessions with key local stakeholders and businesses including the Federation of Small Businesses, Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth Social Enterprise Network, University of Plymouth, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, and Babcock, to help spread the initiative beyond the Council.

Giving construction sector visibility of capital projects pipeline: Monthly engagement with Building Plymouth's Procurement Pipeline Partnership group whose members have committed to sharing their capital pipelines and running meet the buyer events to give the industry support and visibility of upcoming construction projects. A copy of the Council’s capital pipeline was published for the first time in September 2020 and is refreshed on a quarterly basis.

Reviewed policies and procedures: Council policies are being reviewed and rewritten to ensure they are local supplier friendly and maximise social value. This includes the Council’s ‘procurement bible’ (Contract Standing Orders), which has been standardised, simplified and procedures made more flexible for both staff and suppliers, the Council’s Social Value Policy has been embedded in standard procurement processes and a guide to help Officer’s ‘Buy Local’ has been released.

Promoting the social value policy for the city: The Council has already obtained economic, community and environmental commitments from suppliers that are valued at over £1 million.

Developing the Plymouth Supplier Directory: The Plymouth Supplier Directory which aims to bring local business buyers and suppliers together to increase the opportunity for spend to be kept locally for the benefit of Plymouth and its residents was launched on 25 February 2021, and can be accessed here.

Launched the Resurgam Charter: A Charter to unite organisations across the city behind a common commitment to a fairer, greener future for Plymouth. Spend 4 Plymouth is one of the 5 key pillars of the Charter.