19.05.14
Welsh public procurement could stimulate jobs – Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru has stated that Wales is missing out on an opportunity to create thousands of jobs, which could be stimulated by spending a larger amount of taxpayer money on public procurement within the country.
The national party of Wales claims that only half of public procurement spending goes to companies based in the country, a figure it wants to see rise to 75%.
Jill Evans, Plaid MEP, told Wales Online: “At the moment, 48% of the value of our contracts leaves Wales, so our workers and communities don’t see the benefit of this spending, which if spent locally creates yet more jobs. This compares with just 14% that leaks away from our nearest European neighbours, the Republic of Ireland, which is a similar sized population to ours – so they get to keep 86%.”
Her comments come after analysis of 2009-11 figures revealed that among EU members only Malta – which has a population of just 452,500 – has a “worse” record of public procurement than Wales, with 53% of spending going to other countries.
“Other small independent European countries the same size as Wales keep around 90% of their contracts in their own country. The European average is closer to 97%,” added Evans. “If Ireland and other European countries can do it, why can’t Wales?”
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