Council uses new powers to put British ceramics first

A North Staffordshire council is believed to be among the first in the country to use new procurement powers to favour British ceramics manufacturers, pledging to put UK-made products at the heart of its purchasing decisions.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has written a commitment to buying British ceramics into its procurement rules, giving preference to products made in the UK wherever the law allows and value for money can be demonstrated.

The policy will cover a range of purchases including tableware, giftware, sanitaryware, tiles, bricks and clay pipes.

To mark the move, Council Leader Jonathan Gullis visited Stoke-on-Trent manufacturer Churchill China to sign the British Ceramics Declaration alongside Rob Flello, Chief Executive of industry representative body Ceramics UK.

The council is also buying 500 mugs made by Churchill China as a practical demonstration of its pledge.

The change follows new powers introduced in February this year which allow councils, for qualifying below-threshold contracts, to reserve competition to suppliers based in the UK or their local area, subject to procurement law, competition and value for money requirements.

Councillor Gullis said the council had a responsibility to support the industry, which has been central to the area’s identity for more than two centuries.

He said: “And every pound we spend has first been earned by a taxpayer. Where the law allows us to spend that money with businesses manufacturing here in Britain, supporting British jobs and strengthening our economy, we should do so.

“That is why this cannot simply be another declaration that gets signed, photographed and forgotten. We are changing the way this Council procures.”

He added that the commitment would apply to products actually manufactured in Britain, rather than those made overseas and subsequently imported or rebadged.

Rob welcomed the agreement and called for a “commitment by all the UK’s councils to support the UK ceramics industry”.

He asked for greater use of British-made ceramics in everything from building materials such as bricks, roof tiles and sanitaryware to tableware in schools, care homes and council offices, and highlighted the industry’s role in supplying specialist materials to other sectors, including steelmaking.

Churchill China’s Chief Executive James Roper said the initiative was particularly important to Staffordshire, where ceramics remain a major part of the region’s heritage and manufacturing base. He said the industry supported local jobs and skilled craftsmanship, adding that the company hoped the move would help British ceramics “grow and prosper for future generations.”