Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Sector Procurement: Small and Medium-sized Businesses

Thursday 23 November 2023 · 3 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Procurement Act 2023 aims to simplify public sector procurement processes and increase opportunities for SMEs to secure a larger share of public spending.
  • The Government requires applicants for contracts for difference, a main renewable support scheme, to submit supply chain plans detailing how many SMEs will be supported.
  • Northern Ireland will benefit from a new post-EU procurement regime, as it did not opt out like Scotland did, providing more opportunities for local SMEs to access government contracts.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Business & Trade
Context

The question pertains to the need for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to have better access to public sector procurement processes. The Procurement Act 2023 aims to improve this situation.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to public sector procurement processes for small and medium-sized businesses?

Answer from Alex Burghart

The Procurement Act 2023 will deliver simpler, more effective public sector procurement and help small and medium-sized enterprises secure a greater share of approximately £300 billion of expenditure per year. The Act places a requirement on contracting authorities to assess the particular barriers facing SMEs throughout the entire procurement life cycle and to consider what can be done to overcome them.

Answered
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Q2 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Climate Energy Business & Trade
Context

The question addresses the need for small and medium-sized businesses to be more aware of opportunities in the renewable energy sector, particularly through public sector procurement.

Question

The renewable energy sector offers great opportunities for SMEs to become involved in the supply chain. Many of them are unaware of the public sector tenders that are out there. What are the Government doing to ensure that SMEs are made more aware of the opportunities available?

Answer from Alex Burghart

I very much encourage my hon. Friend to take this matter up with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, but for my part I understand that anyone bidding for contracts for difference, our main renewable support scheme, must submit supply chain plans, including how many applicants will support SMEs.[Official Report, 10 January 2024, Vol. 743, c. 6MC.] The Department is also consulting on reforms that will give greater revenue support to applicants using more sustainable supply chains, including those that make greater use of SMEs.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps taken by the government to ensure SME awareness of opportunities are not detailed beyond encouraging interaction with another department and mentioning ongoing consultations without concrete commitments or actions.

How: Encouraging Interaction With Another Department

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Q3 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Northern Ireland Business & Trade
Context

The question centres on the benefits of procurement reforms for small and medium-sized businesses in Strangford, Northern Ireland. The hon. Member for Cleethorpes has previously raised similar concerns.

Question

I thank the Minister for his response and the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) for raising this matter. Northern Ireland, and particularly my constituency of Strangford, have a great many small and medium-sized businesses that depend greatly on opportunities for Government contracts. What discussions has the Minister had with the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland on a united approach, similar to that referred to by the hon. Member for Cleethorpes? I would love to see that in Northern Ireland.

Answer from Alex Burghart

My hon. Friend will be pleased to hear, and will remember from discussions we had as the Procurement Act 2023 was making its way through Parliament, that Northern Ireland will benefit from the new post-EU regime that we have brought in. Unlike our friends in Scotland, who chose to opt out, England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been able to shrug off the overly bureaucratic regime that we inherited from the EU and create, alongside small and medium-sized businesses, a brand-new way of doing things. I know that small and medium-sized enterprises in his constituency will ultimately benefit from that.

Not addressed: The answer discusses broader benefits of procurement reforms rather than addressing specific discussions or actions taken with the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland as requested by the questioner.

How: Discussing Broader Regime Changes Instead

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