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Commercial Strategy for 2024-2029 Section 1: Why do we need a commercial strategy?

Our commercial vision

To be a financially resilient, innovative, and effective organisation, delivering excellence for residents in a dynamic, business-like, and efficient manner.

Walsall's commercial strategy

  • Encourage residents to lead healthier, more independent lives for better well-being.
  • Enable greater local opportunities for all people, communities and businesses.
  • Empower our communities to feel connected, safe, and healthy in Walsall.
  • Ensure children have a safe, happy, healthy, and successful start in life.
  • Becoming a more responsive, efficient & equitable customer focused council.

Behaving in a more business-like way

Adopting positive culture and behaviours.

Being business friendly

To promote local growth and prosperity.

Strategic collaboration with local partners

Identify needs, develop service models and market those needs cost-effectively.

Increase income

Engage in income generation activities with investment and maximisation of assets.

Why have a commercial strategy?

In order to overcome current and future financial challenges, the council will need to adopt a sustainable, commercially focused approach.

This entails fostering a commercial culture that promotes efficiency, innovation, transparency, and intelligent risk management while prioritising customer satisfaction. The council will need to rethink its functions, exploring new income generating avenues and accepting the possibility of some initiatives failing.

This strategy document will guide commercial activities aimed at addressing funding shortfalls, responding to demand for essential services, and reflecting evolving community needs. Implementation will be supported by a commercial strategy steering group, working in collaboration with directors and service managers. The role of the group will be to support idea development and implementation within service areas to become routine service delivery.

Financial position

Despite managing our finances very well over many years, the council is facing significant budget deficits in future years as the costs of providing our services increase and the funding received is forecasted to reduce.

We estimate that in 2025/26 this will lead to a budget deficit of approximately £20m rising to £40m by 2027/28 for the 3-year period.

It is therefore of utmost importance that the council’s Commercial Strategy is playing a key role in generating more income through business like trading of services reducing the impact of service cuts and forming an integral part of a structured approach to securing the council’s financial sustainability.

The council has, for several years, allowed investment to be made in upfront costs associated with commercial activities and to take a structured approach to generate income and making savings to meet the budget gap and this area of work has supported the achievement of circa £15m of additional income forecast by 2024/25.

Links to other Walsall Council policies and strategies

This strategy will impact all service areas across the council. It will be a key enabler allowing the council to ‘work smartly’ and its impact will be evidenced in all aspects of service delivery if implemented correctly.

It is therefore essential that the commercial approach aligns and supports the council’s ambitions and strategic objectives. This document aligns to: