Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Procurement

Thursday 24 February 2022 · 8 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is reforming procurement rules to make it simpler and quicker for small and medium-sized enterprises to bid for public sector contracts.
  • One of the procurement reforms will allow social benefit to be considered, not just value for money.
  • The new procurement system will establish a centrally managed debarment register to identify companies that should be banned from public contracts.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jerome Mayhew Con Broadland and Fakenham
Business & Trade
Context

None provided, general inquiry about government support for small businesses.

Question

What steps the Government are taking to increase opportunities for small businesses to bid for Government contracts.

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

Her Majesty's Government are reforming the procurement rules to make it simpler and quicker for suppliers, including small and medium-sized enterprises and social enterprises, to bid for public sector contracts. The reforms will entrench transparency for the full extent of a commercial transaction, and will make it easier for buyers to take account of previous poor performance by suppliers.

Partly answered

Not addressed: None

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Q2 Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central
Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The US sets informal targets through the Buy American Act for British steel procurement allowed by WTO rules.

Question

The Government need to get on and reform those rules somewhat more quickly, do they not? In answer to my written question about steel targets for HS2, the Government told me that they were unable to set targets for British steel procurement because of World Trade Organisation rules, but that is not true, is it? The US sets informal targets through the Buy American Act because the WTO allows it to do so. Where, then, is the Buy British-made Steel policy in Government contracts in this country, using the informal targets that are allowed by the WTO?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

One of the opportunities of Brexit is that we will be able to encourage people to buy more from SMEs, which tend to be UK-based rather than from overseas. Opening up procurement has the effect of ensuring that more British companies get contracts.

Not addressed: Specific request for steel procurement targets was not addressed directly.

How: Discussed General Encouragement To Buy Local

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Q3 Kerry McCarthy Lab Bristol East
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The Government spend £2 billion annually on food for schools, hospitals, prisons.

Question

When they eventually respond to the national food strategy, will they accept its recommendations on reforming procurement rules so that food purchased with taxpayers' money is always healthy and sustainable?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

I do not think we need to go into my personal dietary habits. As for the strategy for procurement of food, one of the things it will do is allow social benefit to be taken into account. It will not just be about value for money, although value for money is inevitably fundamental to all procurement.

Not addressed: Specific request was deflected by talking about personal habits and general principles.

How: Discussed Personal Dietary Habits, Mentioned Broad Principles

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Q4 Stephen Hammond Con
Business Compliance
Context

The Government's procurement and contract management have not been as efficient as they should be.

Question

In his role as Minister for Government Efficiency, will my right hon. Friend take that on board, and will he ensure that the Government set out new guidelines for procurement for themselves so that they do not keep changing them and hence building in inefficiency?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

The new procurement rules will make it easier for buyers to exclude suppliers that have underperformed on other public contracts. We will establish a new, centrally managed debarment register, which will identify any companies that should be banned from any new public contract.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific request for guidelines was not directly addressed.

How: Discussed Exclusion Rules And Debarment

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Q5 Jerome Mayhew Con Broadland and Fakenham
Business & Trade
Context

Ancillary requirements in tender documents form a barrier to SME participation.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend consider relaxing those non-core requirements, to enable SMEs in Broadland and elsewhere to compete?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

The personal liability insurance that people were required to have when contracting with the Cabinet Office inevitably excluded some smaller companies. One of the first things I did in this post was to ask for that to be reviewed to see if it was proportionate and what we really needed.

Answered
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Q6 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Business & Trade
Context

Around 70% of all central Government contracts in 2021 went to suppliers in the south of England, with almost half going to companies in London.

Question

Can the Minister outline the specific targets in the procurement Bill that will ensure that Government purchasing of goods and services is better spread across our country?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

I cannot reveal the details of Bills before they are published, but I agree with the hon. Lady's basic thrust and point. One of the advantages of our new procurement system is that we will have better data and will therefore be able to ensure that the whole of the country is represented.

How: Cannot Reveal Details Due To Confidentiality, Mentioned Data Collection

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Q7 Tim Loughton Con
Brexit Business & Trade Local Government
Context

Brexit has led to the removal of EU bureaucratic procurement rules, providing an opportunity for local authorities to favour local businesses in public procurement.

Question

One of the great benefits of Brexit is that we are no longer bound by EU bureaucratic procurement rules. Will the Minister ensure clear guidance to local authorities, schools, and other areas of public procurement to favour local businesses, particularly smaller businesses and local producers, so our children and public service workers can enjoy quality food and drink products that are locally produced in this country?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

I look forward to my trip to Worthing. He is absolutely right; this comes from the de-bureaucratisation of the system because it makes it easier for small companies to apply. The thing to remember is that large companies have departments that fill out tender documents, but small companies do not. We need to simplify the tender documents to bring the small companies in.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The guidance or policy on favouring local businesses was not directly addressed.

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Q8 Nick Smith Lab Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
NHS
Context

Over a year ago, the Public Accounts Committee discovered that there were 10,000 shipping containers filled with millions of items of personal protective equipment. The number increased to 14,000 months later.

Question

There are currently 14,000 shipping containers full of unused PPE costing billions of pounds. Can the Minister please give an update on how many shipping containers are still full of PPE this month?

Answer from Jacob Rees-Mogg

That is a matter for the Department of Health. I would defend the procurement of PPE because we needed it urgently, as we needed a vaccine urgently. Normal procurement takes three to six months, but we had to act urgently to get PPE.

Not addressed: The number of shipping containers with unused PPE was not provided.

How: That Is A Matter For The Department Of Health.

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