I’m always astonished that any industry still exists in the UK, with the highest energy costs in the world and successive governments which, for as long as I can remember, have been too quick to procure goods and services from abroad, even when it means the loss of UK jobs. Whatever happened to a level playing field? It’s also why I’m encouraged by the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-Commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026, which allows local authorities to favour either UK companies or those which are locally based, when making procurement decisions. But the new legislation has its limitations:
- The ability to favour local industry or that which is UK based only applies to the lowest tier of procurement which does not have to go out to formal tender. This means supplies or services contracts with a value under £207,720 and works contracts which are under £5,193,000
- The legislation is permissive. which means that councils are under no obligation to favour local business or that which is UK based. Any council which wishes to use the legislation must update its contract standing orders to allow it to do so and also make clear in any advertisement that bidding is limited to UK companies or those which are locally based
BRUCE AND HOLLY 