Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Richardson Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

1. What plans he has to support small and medium-sized businesses in bidding for Government contracts.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

7. What plans he has to support small and medium-sized businesses in bidding for Government contracts.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

13. What plans he has to support small and medium-sized businesses in bidding for Government contracts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Angela Richardson]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her previous answer and it is great to see her on the Front Bench. Ninety-nine per cent. of businesses registered in Guildford are SMEs. What steps is the Minister taking to simplify the bureaucracy involved and minimise the cost to SMEs of quoting for Government business?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work that she is doing for all the businesses in Guildford. We have committed to removing barriers to small businesses in our commercial arrangements, and have already removed the complex pre-qualification questionnaires that people used to have to fill out for even low-value contracts. We will continue to look at other ways that we can ensure that SMEs have maximum opportunity to bid for work.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for outlining the approach to the franchise that the Scottish Government take, but one of the most important lessons that democracy teaches us is that we must respect votes. Of course, Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in the referendum in 2014, and I am afraid his party still refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of that referendum.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

T4. I am delighted to hear my right hon. Friend confirm his commitment to strengthening our precious Union. Would he be happy to expand on how he would like to do that?

[Michael Gove]

I thank my hon. Friend for asking that question. The truth is that our United Kingdom is proof positive that a union of nations is stronger together, and it is important that we ensure that the benefits of our Union are spread equally. That means making sure that public sector jobs are deployed effectively in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It also means that the strength of our Exchequer is the foundation that our economy provides for human flourishing across these islands. All these things are reflective of the strength of our Union, the single most successful political union and enterprise that anyone has seen on this earth, and that is why it is so important that we fight for it from Fermanagh to Forfar and to every part of England and Wales as well.