Councillor Minesh Parekh (Crookes and Crosspool) has given his maiden speech to Sheffield City Council less than a month after his election. Minesh’s amendment to a Liberal Democrat motion on “Building the Local Business Base” was voted through unanimously.

ITEM OF BUSINESS NO. 7 – NOTICE OF MOTION REGARDING “BUILDING THE
LOCAL BUSINESS BASE”

Amendment to be moved by Councillor Minesh Parekh, seconded by
Councillor Fran Belbin

That the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (i) to (m) as follows:-

(i) believes that we must do everything we can to keep as much money as possible in the local economy, and notes that in the 12 months before the pandemic £80 million more was kept in the local economy, in comparison than with the previous financial year, due to council
procurement policies which ensure priority for local contracts and suppliers;

(j) believes that we need to go further in empowering our local economy and deliver radical and lasting polices around ‘community wealth
building’ (a people-centred approach to local economic development, which redirects wealth back into the local economy, and places control and benefits into the hands of local people);

(k) supports, therefore, the development of a ‘Community Wealth Building Charter’ encompassing a commitment to long-term collaboration between the city’s anchor institutions; supporting shared ‘community wealth building’ goals to commit to fair employment, opportunities for development, growing the local economy, and supporting small businesses, the voluntary sector, and co-operatives;

(l) believes we must work collaboratively to deliver climate action and provide clean growth for the entire region, and to encourage citywide job security, better employment opportunities and drive up wages; as such we want to see all employers paying at least the Real Living Wage and spending more with local and regional suppliers, and we believe in empowering employees to be informed and involved in decision making within their organisations; and

(m) recommends that the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee reports back to Council within 6 months to deliver a Community Wealth Building Charter with a clearly defined set of shared objectives to deliver locally for Sheffield, as well as providing an enhanced Ethical Procurement Strategy that delivers on our commitment to social, economic, and climate justice.