Local authorities and housing associations should increase SME spending

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has urged local authorities and housing associations to increase the amounts they spend with SMEs, a recent news report has been able to reveal.

The FMB has argued that, while the Government’s announcement that every £1 in £3 is spent with small businesses is welcome, this only applies to central government contracts.

Sarah McMonagle, Head of External Affairs at the FMB, said: “There are lots of good reasons why the wider public sector to spend as much as possible with small firms. In particular, using construction SMEs has been proven to provide real local economic and environmental benefits. SMEs employ local people, meaning that the money spent is likely to go to local suppliers and remain within the local economy.

“Furthermore, in the construction sector, two thirds of apprentices are trained by micro firms, meaning that spending more with these businesses could help towards the Government’s target of creating three million new apprenticeships by 2020. An even more ambitious target could go further towards the governments stated aim of 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.”

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