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Cities Policy

Inclusive Economy

Inclusive Economy

Our Inclusive Economy priorities

  • Plural Ownership of the Economy – Generating finance for the local economy by developing and growing small enterprises, community organisations, co-operatives and municipal ownership.
  • Making Financial Power Work for Local Places – Increasing flows of investment within local economies by harnessing and recirculating the wealth that exists, as opposed to attracting capital. This includes redirecting local authority pension funds and supporting mutually owned banks.
  • Fair Employment and Just Labour Markets – Committing Anchor institutions to paying the Living Wage, recruiting from lower income areas and building employment progression routes to improve local economies and the prospects of local people.
  • Progressive Procurement of Goods and Services – Developing dense local supply chains of businesses likely to support local employment and retain wealth locally, including SME’s employee owned businesses, social enterprises, co-operatives and community businesses.
  • Socially Productive Use of Land and Property – Developing the function and ownership of local assets held by anchor institutions so that financial and social gain is harnessed by citizens in addition to extending the community use of public sector land and facilities.

During the Key Cities AGM on 29 June 2022, Preston Leader Cllr Matthew Brown proposed the inception of a Key Cities Shared Economy and Progressive Procurement portfolio which was fully endorsed by the meeting. The purpose of the portfolio was to develop a Key Cities workstream to promote the value of creating a shared economy and utilising progressive procurement to build a resilient and inclusive economy for the benefit of a local area. This approach seeks to harness the economic and social power of anchor institutions routed locally to their community, to both influence and enact change for a generative local economy.

Portfolio Lead

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