Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

We will publish in due course a plan for civil service reform, the pattern of which will be incremental reform that is capable of implementation. It should not be another civil service reform plan that lies unimplemented, gathering dust on library shelves.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to bid for Government contracts.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude)]

It is our aim and aspiration that by the end of this Parliament 25% of central Government spend with outside providers should be with small and medium-sized enterprises. We have launched a series of radical measures to simplify the procurement process in order to make it easier and cheaper for all companies to see the business available with the Government and to bid and compete effectively. Our direct spend with SMEs since the Labour party left office is already on track to double.

[Jason McCartney]

How can SMEs in my constituency find out more about how to do more business with the Government?[Official Report, 18 June 2012, Vol. 546, c. 3-4MC.]

[Mr Maude]

By looking at the Contracts Finder website, which is the main source of Government contracts over £100,000. That is the place where they should look, and I hope that they will, but since February 2011, when we announced our new approach, about a third of new contracts have already been awarded to SMEs.