Last year, Levelling Up secretary Dehenna Davison, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and ten local council leaders signed a landmark devolution deal for funding of the Greater Manchester Area as part of Levelling Up efforts.
The deal follows other, similar regional devolution deals – an agreement for the four councils of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority, with a total value of £1.4 billion, and a £160 million deal for West Midlands Combined Authority to address transport, housing and skills development.
Greater Manchester procurement practices
The combined authority of Greater Manchester has procurement information listed on a webpage. As with most central and sub-central authorities, they have implemented a target for 33% of spend to be awarded to small and medium-sized businesses, with a particular emphasis on ensuring spend is circulated within the local economy.
According to Tussell, a total of 52 contract notices with a combined value of £92.3 million were issued by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority during 2022.
This included contracts for health and social care, maintenance and repair of fire service PPE, servicing and installation of energy-efficient heating systems and provision of skills training for disadvantaged local residents.
With an additional £640 million as a result of the devolution deal, these numbers are expected to increase substantially across several industries and sectors.
Relevant industries and opportunities
Details of funding earmarked for certain initiatives were also listed, and include:
- £400 million for investment in affordable housing, in conjunction with Homes England
- £150 million for development of properties on brownfield sites
- £80 million to support ‘investment zones’ within the local authority
- £10 million to support levelling up and growth in Greater Manchester
- A scheme targeting the reduction of residential and commercial energy bills through funding for retrofit buildings and decarbonisation works.
Based on the funding stream, major works and planning will be organised around construction projects, plumbing and heating, and the provision of skills/training, among others.
Before the funding is formally allocated into official framework agreements and contracts, businesses should make suitable and sufficient preparations for incoming opportunities.
This includes ensuring sufficient resourcing, strengthening upstream and downstream supply chain agreements and identifying potential social value commitments.
Since its inception in 2009, Executive Compass has supported over 7,000 bespoke, high-quality SQ and ITT submissions, including those in the North West and Greater Manchester area, with a fully auditable 85% success rate.
