Our approach to procurement was like all other local authorities. We were governed by rules that said we had to get the best value from tenders. This meant we could consider qualitative, technical and sustainable aspects as well as price, where they were fundamentally linked to the service, supply or works.

The introduction of the 2012 Social Value Act helped to change this, along with the start of the Community Wealth Building (CWB) project which looked to harness wealth from within the city – its financial and physical assets, its citizens and its procurement – and to work collaboratively with other institutions based within Preston. CWB itself was developed as a result of a change in political administration, ongoing significant budget reductions due to the financial crisis, and the failure of a long-planned major retail development.