Leading anchor institutions in Wales have committed to a ‘Preston model’-style procurement policy which will increase their spend with social businesses, including co-ops.
Transport for Wales, the Development Bank of Wales, Public Health Wales and NHS Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) have also pledged to embed social value across their major contracts.
All four organisations are working with Social Business Connect – a commercial consultancy service from the Wales Co-operative Centre, which helps organisations alter their supply chains to boost trade with the social business sector.
They also lent their support to the ‘Buy Social for a Better World’ campaign, backed by Welsh actor Michael Sheen, a patron of Social Enterprise UK.
Wales Co-operative Centre says there are over 2,000 social enterprises in Wales – 15% of which are co-ops – contributing an estimated £3bn to the Welsh economy (and £60bn to the UK economy) and employing around 55,000 people.
Rhian Edwards, lead consultant for Social Business Connect, said: “Wales is entering its most challenging period in decades. Our post-industrial and rural communities, once the power house of the local economy, have suffered years of decline and under investment. That’s where social business comes alive.
“Social businesses are anchored in their communities and any investment stays in the community and is used for wider economic and social benefits. While they often operate in hard to reach, economically challenged communities, they employ more people relative to turnover than other businesses.”
Sarah Jane Waith, head of supply chain & contract management at Transport for Wales said: “We have a real opportunity to increase the social and environmental impact of our procurement and help to scale up the social business sector in Wales.
“There is still a perception out there that social businesses don’t have the resources or skill set to deliver on the outputs required of these major public sector contracts but they couldn’t be further from the truth.”
