Key Facts

• The UK Government spends over £300 billion annually on public procurement.
• SMEs account for 99% of businesses and 61% of employment in the UK.
• SMEs miss out on around £30 billion-worth of public contracts annually.
• In 2020, the public sector spent £18 billion with overseas suppliers rather than supporting British counterparts.
• The Public Accounts Committee’s report concluded that the Government has not consistently used its purchasing power to support local and national policies or drive competitive markets.
• The Bill aims to provide a fair slice of £300 billion in public contracts for British businesses.
• There were over 25,000 company insolvencies in the UK in 2023, the highest since 1993.
• UK steel employs nearly 40,000 people directly and supports another 50,000 jobs indirectly.
• In 2022-23, only £365 million of £603 million worth of steel procured by the government was UK-produced.
• The UK public sector spends about £2.4 billion annually on food procurement.
• The Bill aims to measure how much food is procured from British farmers.
• A Deltapoll survey found that 81% of 4,000 people polled consider buying British food “very” or “fairly” important.
• Over 6,000 agricultural businesses have closed since 2017 according to the ONS.
• SMEs make up 99% of UK businesses and account for 61% of employment.
• In 2016, 25% of public sector procurement spending was awarded directly to SMEs; by 2021, this dropped to 21%.
• Only £1 in every £5 spent by the UK Government on public services goes straight to SMEs.
• The national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses emphasized that meeting procurement targets affirms trust in the small business community.
• An example Rotherham business was subcontracted a £1 million contract after a multinational won a £10 million contract and subcontracted it down, resulting in financial strain for the SME.
• The Bill defines good employment standards as including compliance with national and international obligations in the field of environment, social and labour law.
• It requires contracting authorities to include details about their compliance with such standards in a contract award notice.
• The NPPS published in June 2021 argues that public procurement should support economic growth and recovery from the pandemic.
• The current procurement process fails to account for social value and conditions of bidding companies.
• RISE Brighton's specialist domestic violence service lost a public procurement bid to an international consortium, leading to additional council funding needs.
• Without proper data on procurement processes, it is difficult to implement effective policies.
• The Conservative Government has failed to reform the procurement system to support British businesses.
• In 2021, SMEs received a relatively smaller amount of direct government procurement money compared to five years earlier.
• Frank Hester, an abusive and racist donor of the Tory party, received nearly half a billion pounds in contracts from central and local government and the NHS since 2016.
• Newham Council's general fund has been cut by about 18%.
• Newham’s population has increased by 16%.
• In 2018, only 48% of businesses in Newham were assessed as resilient compared to 69% in inner London as a whole.
• Over 100 local employers have signed up to the council's voluntary community wealth building pledge.
• The London living wage is £13.15 an hour.
• Populo, Newham Council’s wholly owned housing company, aims to build 7,000 new homes by 2040.
• Sarah Champion's Bill could benefit SMEs in her constituency and across the UK.
• A working group was set up with organisations such as TUC, Rolls-Royce, UK Steel, National Farmers Union, National Federation of Builders, RSPCA, Countryside Alliance, Bloom Procurement Services, YPO, and APSE.
• The UK is a party to WTO’s agreement on Government procurement which legally requires non-discrimination against suppliers from other signatory countries.