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The government has announced plans to cut public spending significantly, with local government being expected to shoulder the burden of a significant proportion of that reduction. Therefore, balancing the budget for local authorities is more acute than ever before. Councils now need to develop new income channels which are both sustainable and supportive of the local economy.
With income generation in mind, linked to a savings target of £37 million in 2016 and £80 million by 2019, Cumbria County Council engaged with Oxygen Finance in 2014 to introduce a Premier Supply Service (PSS). In exchange for improved supplier relationship management, invoicing efficiencies and payment of invoices ahead of contracted terms, the council’s suppliers can elect to join the PSS for a small discount to each invoice. To ensure fairness, the discount taken against each invoice is proportional to the number of days in advance of contracted terms that payment is made.
Implementing the PSS was a collaborative exercise with Oxygen personnel working closely with council staff. Once in place, suppliers were invited to join, and take up has now reached over £110 million of annual spend across almost 200 suppliers. This has produced significant new income for the council: a true win-win result.
We’ve shared insights from both the council and suppliers to provide more detail of the benefits the new initiative has offered Cumbria County Council, their suppliers and the wider community.
