You recently announced that the Anchor Institutions’ Network has pledged to spend up to 30 per cent of their annual procurement on small businesses based in the capital. What percentage of these businesses will be based in each London borough and what percentage will be from inner and outer London?

In March, a number of the largest London Anchor Institution Charter signatories committed to spend more than £1.3bn over five years on contracts with London’s small businesses. The GLA pledged 30% of annual third-party spending with London-based micro and small businesses, charities, and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs), equating to £35.4m in 2022/23 alone.

This announcement represents a target that the GLA and other Anchor members will work proactively and collaboratively to deliver. A number of areas have been identified for shared-working, including open workshops on becoming a supplier to public sector bodies, and ringfencing contracts for small businesses.

Because of the London wide nature of the institutions who have signed up to the charter, no ringfencing of contracts based by borough definitions or inner or outer London is planned, though signatories all commit to leverage their influence in the local communities in which they work.