Local firms win work worth £1 million a day from county council

Local firms have benefited to the tune of almost £1 million a day as part of a Surrey County Council pledge to back business.

Annual figures reveal that 4,300 local companies secured £363m worth of contracts from the council – the equivalent of just under £1m daily.

That means that local spending on goods and services has surged to 52% as the council pushes towards its target of 60%. Three years ago, the council spent just over a third of its money locally.

Surrey leader David Hodge

It comes after a raft of measures were introduced to make it easier for firms to do business with the council, including an online initiative called BuildSurrey to help companies clinch building contracts and a scheme incentivising businesses to take on hundreds of apprentices.

Surrey leader David Hodge said: “Local businesses are the bedrock of every community and if they thrive, we all thrive.

“Our job is to help them do what they do best – create jobs, promote growth and ensure their communities prosper. That is why we’ve pledged to ensure 60% of our spending is with local firms.

“And there can be no better way for the council to contribute directly to Surrey’s economy than by putting £360m into their bank accounts in one year alone.”