KIRKLEES Council has pledged to do all it can to buy more goods and services from local suppliers.

But it urged companies critical of the council’s procurement policies to make a similar commitment and use local firms for the things they need in a bid to boost the local economy.

The council faced criticism from several members of the audience at a well-attended Kirklees Business Summit held at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium yesterday.

During a question and answer session, one Dewsbury-based businessman was applauded when he said he found it impossible to win business from the council, despite many attempts.

But Kirklees leader Clr Mehboob Khan said the council did not have a free hand in deciding where to award contracts.

He said: “I want to spend every penny of the money we have for procurement in the local economy to keep Kirklees people in work.

“We spend 50% of that budget locally and we would like to make that 90%, but European rules mean we have to go out for compulsory tender for a range of goods and services we buy.”

Clr Khan said the council was working with its lawyers to find ways to build contracts requirements around social and environmental impacts into its contracts which would effectively give local suppliers an advantage when tendering.

He said: “We are the best council in Yorkshire when to comes to buying locally, but we are not complacent.”

Jacquie Gedman, Kirklees director for economy, employment and skills, said government-imposed cuts meant Kirklees had less to spend, but that the council was spreading the ‘buy local’ message to other public sector bodies.

And she challenged every business to match the council’s 50% “buy local” figure, adding: “If we do this together, the impact will be huge.”

The exchange came as the summit unveiled details of the council’s Kirklees Business Deal, a £1m package of measures to help local firms over the next four years.

The aim is to help to businesses in four priority areas – precision engineering and innovative manufacturing; creativity and enterprise; infrastructure; and workforce and skills.

Clr Khan said the Kirklees Business Deal would focus on issues such as skills, access to markets, access to finance and providing good premises for firms.

“At a time of austerity, we have put £1m into initiatives to support businesses through loans, grants and advice,” he said.

Measures in the Kirklees Business Deal include encouraging closer links between business, schools and colleges; an Apprenticeship Hub to create a skilled workforce for the future; and encouraging more collaboration between manufacturers, marketing experts, creativity and design.

Others include supporting businesses to access new markets at home and abroad; investing in town centres and strategic sites along major road routes; increasing work placements and promoting Better Health and Work initiatives.

Ian Farquhar, managing director of gear firm David Brown and chairman of the Kirklees Employment and Skills Board, said the main focus was on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

He said: “99.7% of Kirklees businesses are SMEs, each employing fewer than 250 people. A recent survey of 1,200 businesses revealed that development of skills was the crucial factor.

“Now is the time for SMEs to engage with this initiative and for us all to work more closely together to help build the local economy.”