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Question from: County Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe Subject: National business over local business - is this good use of the Powys Pound?
Question:
Following an email sent from PCC rewards to staff last week I’ve been approached with concerns that Powys County Council is not practising what it preaches to its residents and businesses in the county.
Last week your email said “Get cycling this half term with up to 10% off at Halfords, Cotswold Outdoor, Decathlon and more”.
This is quite ironic we feel, here is why: - Halfords have no branches in Powys. They're a car parts supermarket, not a cycling specialist, although they've done very well by all accounts in the last 12 months out of the cycling boom as people have been encouraged to shop online. They are at least a UK company who presumably pay some tax in the UK - they made £75million in profit in 2018 on the back of over £1 billion in sales, so perhaps aren't the business most in need of publicity from PCC. - Decathlon don't have a single branch anywhere in Wales, let alone in Powys. They're a French company, employing 87,000 people around the world, but presumably none of these in Powys. They had revenue of over $12 billion in 2017 so again, probably not doing desperately badly. - Costwold do at least have one branch in Powys, in Brecon, so at least pay some rates and employ a few local people. However they're owned by a private equity firm based in Paris (which has assets of over 13 billion euros) and I wonder how much tax they pay in the UK, let alone Wales?
In contrast there are at least a dozen or so independently owned and run specialist bike shops in Powys, all of whom employ local people or are owner-run self-employed businesses. There are also several independent outdoor equipment suppliers. As far as I'm aware PCC have not contacted any of these businesses about running similar promotions for PCC staff.
Why does PCC see fit to spend time and money promoting these large, often tax-avoiding corporations, when independent local businesses can give better service, and supply the same products (or, in many cases, better quality alternatives at comparable costs) via a more environmentally-friendly business model?
Lets make the Powys pound you talk about mean something!!!!
I strongly encourage you to use Powys based businesses where possible!
Minutes: Response by the Portfolio Holder:
The Council partners with iComWorks to provide an Employee Benefits platform tailored to Powys, which is branded / called PCC Rewards (www.pccrewards.co.uk). This was procured through the National Procurement Service (NPS) who promote Welsh public sector procurement collaboration to deliver a good deal for Wales, embracing the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Employees who elect to join and register on the platform access many benefits and receive automated mailshots and promotions from the provider.
One of the major advantages of the PCC Rewards platform is that it enables employees to nominate local businesses to be part of the available offers. To this end, the employee benefits provider contacts the nominated Powys businesses to discuss the advantages for them as a business to be part of the scheme, and once agreed, all employees who have registered for employee benefits are able to view the local deals in their area through the online PCC Rewards account and app.
The emails you refer to do list the large companies, many of whom as you correctly advise are not located in Powys. This is the case as the emails are automated from the employee benefits provider, come at no cost to the Council, and are emailed out for all participating organisations including numerous others Local Authorities in Wales. I acknowledge and recognise that our local businesses signed up to the employee benefits scheme are not being prominently advertised in the same way, and officers will therefore discuss this with the employee benefits provider to explore what can be done to promote Powys businesses in a similar promotional email.
Meanwhile I can reassure you that The Cycle to Work Salary Sacrifice Scheme is particularly popular amongst Council employees, and pleasingly many employees take advantage of being able to use their local bike shops to source their chosen bike and equipment, which is promoted on the PCC Rewards Platform and is advised by Workforce and OD Officers when enquiries are made about the scheme. |