07/12/2011

Dept of Business Launches £30K Community Buy Scheme

The Department of Business has launched a "community buying" scheme, tempting communities to concentrate their spending power with a £30K prize.

According to the Government, the initiative will enable communities to realise the benefits of community buying where people combine their buying power to purchase goods or services together and get better deals from shops and other suppliers.

The Buy Better Together Challenge is aimed at raising awareness of the benefits of community buying with the Department for Business and Co-operatives UK each contributing £30k to the prize fund.

Support will be awarded to schemes that best demonstrate new and different models of group buying, which deliver "real deals" and social benefits for communities.

Any group or organisation within the public, voluntary or business sectors is eligible to enter the competition.

Launching the Buy Better Together Challenge at a community buying conference in London, Consumer Minister Edward Davey said: "I am really encouraged by the experiences of the existing groups we’ve heard from today, who have realised significant benefits from community buying. And not just in monetary terms, but also through the huge social payback these schemes deliver, such as opportunities to develop new skills, increase confidence and build closer communities.

“This is another strand of our consumer empowerment strategy; giving consumers the tools and guidance they need to take more informed choices and get better deals. I look forward to seeing the new and exciting ideas that will be put forward for the prize and the benefits that it will bring for the wider community.”

(DW)

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