I am very proud that Torfaen County Borough Council has become the first Welsh Council (and the 19^th in the UK) to sign up to the UK Councils for Fair Tax Declaration by approving my recent motion put before members. In doing so we have joined a growing movement for a gold standard of responsible tax conduct.

Research commissioned by the Fair Tax Foundation has shown that between 2014-19, an enormous proportion of UK public procurement projects were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven – 17.5%, in fact – amounting to £37.5 billion of tax-payers money.

This is simply wrong. It is vital that companies pay their fair share of tax to support the services and infrastructure that they are all too happy to rely on, and not shift the burden onto good businesses that pay their way, or onto individual taxpayers.

By signing up to the Declaration we have demonstrated our commitment, from this point on, to lead by example on our own tax conduct, demand greater transparency from our suppliers and call for more powers to tackle tax avoidance when buying our goods and services.

Councils cannot solve the whole of this problem, but we can do our bit. For us, this is a part of our efforts to view ‘value for money’ as being about more than just lowest cost. It’s about having a positive impact on local small and medium-sized businesses, of which there are excellent examples across Torfaen. It’s about improving the social impact of our spending, on our local economy, on the environment, on employment standards and on social enterprises.

In making this commitment, we have worked alongside the Fair Tax Foundation. You can find them here.

The Fair Tax Foundation have been excellent partners, providing expert help and advice every step of the way. I strongly urge councillors up and down the country to find out more by clicking on the link and talking to the Foundation. With elections coming up fast in May, why not make this commitment to fair dealing in tax part of your campaign, and your manifesto?

As a Welsh Labour & Co-operative councillor, I am particularly proud that this campaign is backed by the Co-operative Party. All the help you need to make this happen is freely available; there are even Labour groups in opposition across the country that have succeeded in this – by laying a motion (the Foundation can help you with that) and winning the argument.

Government, including local government, should consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their taxes, as well as value-for-money and quality of service before handing them public money. I’m pleased that from now on, Torfaen Council will be doing exactly that. Join us.