Businesses in Surrey have pocketed almost £1m a day for the past year, thanks to a pledge from Surrey County Council (SCC).

Figures reveal that 4,300 companies based in the county secured £363m of contracts from the council after initiatives were set up to help local businesses.

SCC set up BuildSurrey to help companies gain business contracts and introduced a scheme giving cash incentives to companies taking on apprentices.

Three years ago, the council spent just over 33 per cent of its money on goods and services locally, compared to 52 per cent in the past year, with hopes of increasing it to 60 per cent.

David Hodge, leader of Surrey County Council, said: “Local businesses are the bedrock of every community and if they thrive, we all thrive.

“Our job is to help them do what they do best – create jobs, promote growth and ensure their communities prosper. That is why we’ve pledged to ensure 60% of our spending is with local firms.

“And there can be no better way for the council to contribute directly to Surrey’s economy than by putting £360m into their bank accounts in one year alone.”