YPO hands Bradford Council more than half a million pounds

Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) handed over £620,868 in public sector dividends to the local authority in 2018.

This comes from a total pot of £7.8 million being given back to councils across the country to help drive economic growth at a local level.

YPO is a buying organisation that supplies products and services to a wide range of customers.

This includes schools, local authorities, charities, emergency services, public sector and other businesses such as nurseries and care homes.

The firm has an annual turnover in excess of £660 million and YPO's members and associate members - such as Bradford City Council - all receive a share of profits.

YPO has also provided a boost to the wider local economy by spending £5,911,601 with businesses and suppliers in the Bradford area.

This has helped to generate a Social Profit figure of £13,153,671 for the borough.

Creating and reporting social value continues to be a high priority for YPO.

The firm has worked with The Social Profit Calculator to analyse spend with its supply base, to provide a Social and Economic Impact Assessment as part of its annual report.

This includes factors such as employment and economic benefit.

For every pound spent, the social and economic value was found to be more than double.

Councillor David Warburton (Lab, Wyke) said: "Being a member of YPO delivers many benefits throughout the year but it is especially encouraging to see such significant dividends returned to our borough to help fund vital services and the boost to the local economy through buying with businesses and suppliers in Bradford."

YPO’s managing director Simon Hill, said: "We are very proud of this result as we know that the dividend we provide increasingly helps to fund crucial frontline services.

"Indeed 20 per cent of our total dividend is returned directly to schools through our loyalty scheme, helping to support stretched finances in the education sector."