In every case, the key to unlocking those opportunities is through using effective procurement to get more bang for your buck, especially at a time when cash is tight. Yes, a social landlord can provide opportunities itself, but its spending power is where more substantial benefits can be achieved. So, how can that be put into practice?

For a start, don’t just settle for the easy option of using a large, well-known contractor or supplier, and try to use local contractors and suppliers, since thriving local businesses are the best means to creating sustainable employment opportunities. Break contracts into small enough lots to enable local firms to bid for them and, if you go through the Official Journal of the European Union make sure you set out addressing worklessness as an integral part of the contract and include the right key performance indicators to make that possible. Recommend collaborative tendering if there are no firms locally with the capacity to bid on their own.

There are too many examples of well-intentioned schemes failing to deliver, but the time is right for social landlords to look closely at how they go about using their spending power to deliver the greatest possible social and economic benefits to a locality.

Guy Lawson, director, CfM Partnerships

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