Call to protect small businesses

THE Tay Cities Deal must aid and protect small businesses which generate around £4.5 billion for the local economy, traders have warned.

The call by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) comes as new figures show Dundee City Council is falling behind the national average in how much it spends on local small and medium-sized enterprises.

Launching its election manifesto, local FSB officials say Perth and Kinross Council’s incoming administration must make sure the Tay City Deal’s proposed £1.84bn investment will benefit local companies.

Corrado Mella, chairman of the FSB in Perth and Kinross, said: “The new administration must ensure that the Tay Cities Deal reflects the broad range of businesses across the catchment area.”

FSB chiefs will also urge Dundee’s new administration to increase spending with local firms.

Statistics collated by the Improvement Service — the national organisation tasked with improving local government — show that the city council spent only 17% of its procurement budget with the area’s smaller firms, compared with a national average of 20%.

Graham Bradley, chairman of FSB’s Dundee and Angus branch, said: “Figures show that if councils increased their spend with smaller, local firms by 2% per year, it would generate an extra £3 million per annum for local economies.”