All 2 Debates between Lord Maude of Horsham and Geraint Davies

Party Funding

Debate between Lord Maude of Horsham and Geraint Davies
Monday 26th March 2012

(12 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Maude of Horsham Portrait Mr Maude
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The hon. Gentleman refers to Peter Cruddas as the most senior: not any more he ain’t.

Geraint Davies Portrait Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)
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Pensioners in Swansea on £135 a week now face an £11 second bedroom tax, so that if they did want to be able to afford a £250,000 lobby lunch, they would have to invest all their money for 40 years. Is this not just the same old Tory story of feeding the rich and robbing the poor?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Maude of Horsham and Geraint Davies
Wednesday 8th February 2012

(12 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. There is far too much noise. We can scarcely hear the Minister’s answers, which is unfair on the Minister and unfair on the House.

Geraint Davies Portrait Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)
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T4. Sixty per cent. of Welsh Government public procurement contracts are awarded to SMEs, half of which are in Wales. In England the figure is less than 10%. Given that SMEs invest more in local jobs, pay more tax and create more growth, what is the Minister doing to ensure that SMEs get business in England, instead of the money being siphoned off abroad?

Lord Maude of Horsham Portrait Mr Maude
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We are radically reforming procurement to cut the cost to businesses. Bidding for public sector contracts has been far too expensive, both for the taxpayer and for bidders, and it is entirely right to say that too many SMEs have simply been frozen out of the process. We are determined to open that up and to enable more SMEs, which will tend to be UK-based, to bid successfully.