Extra support has been demanded for Moray businesses to help them tender for large public sector contracts.
The calls from the council’s Conservative group come after it was revealed that just 44 of the 12,000 national firms registered for the Scottish Government’s supplier development programme (SDP), which is designed to offer support, come from the region.
The local authority has insisted that everything is being done to entice companies to sign up to bid for contracts but has ruled out paying the extra £5,000 annual charge for full membership, which would unlock one-to-one support, of the SDP – believing it will deliver little benefit because its specialists based in the Central Belt.
Now Maria McLean, economic development spokeswoman for the council’s Conservative group, wants investigations done to find other ways to source other support from the Scottish Government.
The Elgin City North councillor said: “The future prosperity of Moray is dependent on growing our smaller businesses.
“There are opportunities out there, such as the investment at RAF Lossiemouth, but they need support to take advantage of them otherwise the contracts may be taken by competitors from elsewhere.
“There has to be ways to prevent our businesses missing out. Having just 1% of Scottish companies based in Moray in the SDP is simply ridiculous.”
Moray MP Douglas Ross added: “Small and medium-sized enterprises in Moray should benefit from this as much as others around the country, after all it is funded by taxpayers across Scotland – but it seems the benefits are regionalised and once again Moray is missing out.”
Moray Council’s SNP group has also raised concerns about the amount of businesses in the region that are not registered to bid for public sector contracts.
The SDP’s first “meet the buyer” event in the north has been scheduled for Inverness next month to give firms the chance to meet councils and other public sector agencies who need work done.
Members of Moray Council’s previous Conservative and independent administration described “resistance” from local businesses to register for the work.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The SDP covers all of Scotland and is governed by a board of elected councillors and officials from across the country, including a representative of Moray Council.
“The Scottish Government has supported it since 2014 to help develop its business model and strategy for helping businesses learn about bidding for public sector contracts.”
