Government Contracts Small Businesses 2021-09-23
2021-09-23
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Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the lack of opportunities for small businesses to bid for government contracts.
What steps the Government are taking to increase opportunities for small businesses to bid for Government contracts. The latest procurement figures show that £15.5 billion was paid to SMEs to help deliver public services, but the MP is concerned about the ongoing challenges faced by smaller firms in competing with larger multinationals.
We are increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in a variety of ways, from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying the bidding process. The latest procurement figures show that £15.5 billion was paid to SMEs to help deliver public services, which is the highest since records began in 02013 and a £1.3 billion increase on the previous year.
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP highlights that Dudley South has many innovative firms in advanced engineering but often the size of government contracts means only large multinationals can compete.
Dudley South has many fantastic firms doing innovative work, particularly in world-class advanced engineering, but too often the size of Government contracts mean that only a handful of multinationals are able to compete. Will my right hon Friend do everything that he can to ensure that public procurement contracts are advertised in the smallest chunks possible so that Government and public services can take full advantage of the talents in our SMEs?
My hon Friend raises a very legitimate point, and in short, yes we will. To encourage the issue he highlights, we require public buyers to divide contracts into more accessible lots or explain why they cannot so that tender requirements can be matched to smaller business specialisms.
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