Businesses have welcomed major work by St Albans City and District Council to make it easier to compete for Council contracts and to use its services.
An online survey was undertaken to test the reaction to steps taken or being considered to make the Council more business friendly.
Of the 35 firms that responded, 88% backed the idea of procurement workshops giving advice on how to bid for contracts.
The Council is holding its first such workshop for small and medium sized businesses next month.
Other findings include 94% approval of an initiative to publicise opportunities for doing business with the Council through the District’s Chamber of Commerce.
There was significant support, 93%, for recent improvements to the Council’s online payments systems for planning, rates and permits.
The idea of a dedicated Council Twitter feed for local business was backed by 80% of survey respondents.
During the next six months, the Council plans to promote tender offers more widely, possibly using a Twitter account.
Of the firms surveyed, 42% were aware of the Council-backed City of Expertise initiative.
This group is promoting St Albans as a leading centre for professional services such as law, accountancy, finance and property management.
Details of the help available to business were given to a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 23 February.
A number of improvements are due over the next six months including changes to the way the Council communicates with business. For example, the business pages of its website may be upgraded.
An industry day may be set up in the spring to promote the next round of contracts to be issued by the Council’s housing department.
Last year, the Council implemented several other business-friendly measures.
These included breaking up large contracts to make it easier for small firms to apply. For example the waste and public toilet cleansing contract was divided into two contracts rather than one.
Contractors were also encouraged to use local firms and people as well as taking on apprentices.
Councillor Julian Daly, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Planning and Conservation, said: “We are working hard to make the Council more business friendly. We have already introduced a number of measures to do so.
“We are improving the tendering process to increase the chance of small local firms being able to compete for our contracts.
“The business survey helps guide our work. We are grateful to those who took part. We uncovered huge support for the idea of procurement workshops and have already set one up.
“We are also looking at ways of improving our communications with business so, for example, we can raise awareness of the City of Expertise. That is a long-term initiative to support high-quality jobs in the District.”
