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

LGA warns of £7bn funding black hole for sector

By Paul Marinko | 03 July 2026

The Local Government Association (LGA) has thrown down the gauntlet to a likely Burnham-led government with warnings the sector faces a £7bn funding black hole.

FINANCE

Food security: National challenge, local solution

By David Godfrey | 02 July 2026

With the international crisis in the Gulf just the latest of threats to UK food security, Carol Ford and David Godfrey describe how Kent’s food sector has fo...

FINANCE

Taking back control

By Sarah Longlands | 01 July 2026

Is Burnham’s vision of the productive state a licence for local government to take back control, asks Sarah Longlands.

FINANCE

Where is fiscal devo going and what is the agenda for Core Cities?

By Paul Marinko | 25 June 2026

Since the chancellor announced plans for devolved income tax the question appears to have happily moved away from ‘if’ to ‘when’. The MJ, Impower and Core Ci...

Popular articles by William Eichler