Council wins award

On Friday, 13 July 2012 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council was awarded the Best ‘Small Business Friendly’ Procurement Policy as part of the Federation of Small Businesses Local Authority Awards.

At the Federation of Small Businesses annual 'Small Business Engagement' lunch Cllr Tony Lloyd and Managing Director Alan Franks accepted the award on behalf of the Borough Council.

The awards provided an opportunity for all councils in Coventry , Warwickshire and Solihull to make known any project or initiative that promotes and champions local economic development. There were three awards which focused on small business friendliness:

• Best 'Small Business Friendly' Programme or Campaign
• Best 'Small Business Friendly' Procurement Policy
• Best all round 'Small Business Friendliness'

These awards form part of the Federation of Small Businesses Real-Life Entrepreneur Campaign, which was launched in 2011 to ensure that at every level of Government - national and local, entrepreneurs are viewed as potential wealth, growth and job creators of the future.

The award for Best all round 'Small Business Friendliness' was jointly won by Coventry City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council; and Best 'Small Business Friendly' Programme or Campaign was won by Rugby Borough Council.

These awards are an excellent way to highlight the sometimes less well known' support and initiatives that Councils provide the small business community - such as parking schemes, procurement opportunities and new business support. We were delighted with Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council's application as they showed emphasis on analysis, which they then linked to economic spend; and they also reviewed and adopted appropriate insurance levels (PI) and Pre-Qualification Questionnaire's (PQQ) so that they were relevant to the contract size.

Ian O'Donnell, FSB Warwickshire and Coventry Chairman

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council values the role that small businesses have in the community and this is reflected in our long-term strategy. It is rewarding for the Council and staff involved to be recognised by this award by the Federation of Small Businesses. We will continue to work together to support small businesses.

Cllr Dennis Harvey, Leader of the Council