Title

FINANCE

Scottish councils should 'target local economies'

Campaigners have called on Scottish councils to spend more with small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

Campaigners have called on Scottish councils to spend more with small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

Scotland's 32 local authorities spend more than £6.1bn a year procuring goods and services, but the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the average council spent only 19.7% of their procurement budget with SMEs in their area in 2015/16.  

The data exposes a variation across local authorities, with West Dunbartonshire Council delivering just 5.8% of its budget with local firms, but Shetland Islands Council using more than half (53.6%) of its spending power to boost its local economy.

The FSB said all of Scotland's city councils, with the exception of Aberdeen, spent less than one pound in four with local SMEs.

Scottish policy convenor for the FSB, Andy Willox, said: ‘Council budgets are under significant pressure.

'That's why it is important that they squeeze every drop of value out of their spending power by targeting it on their local economies.

‘We're calling on every Scottish council to increase their spending with local firms by two per cent per year, delivering a £600m boost to Scottish business by 2021.'

 

FINANCE

Rachel Reeves: The Queen of fiscal drag

By Mike Emmerich | 28 November 2025

The chancellor may have done respectably on putting the public finances on a more secure long-term footing, but her measures do little to stem Britain’s post...

FINANCE

Budget: Putting stability in the spotlight

By Dan Corry | 28 November 2025

Dan Corry says that if the measures in the Budget can lead to some stability that allows growth to emerge then we will all gain.

FINANCE

The Recovery Grant: a vital tool to rebuild local communities

By Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton | 28 November 2025

Overall, the Government’s local government finance reforms appear to be a positive step forward on the path to a fairer future for councils, says Cllr Sir St...

FINANCE

Counting care costs

By Ann McGauran | 27 November 2025

Councils continue to face steep rises in the cost of care in both children and adult services. As social care chiefs gather this week for the National Childr...

Popular articles by William Eichler