Oral Answers to Questions

Jess Asato Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

13. What steps he is taking to support small businesses in public procurement.

[Jess Asato (Lowestoft) (Lab)]

17. What steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises in public procurement.

[Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) (Lab/Co-op)]

20. What steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises in public procurement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Georgia Gould]

I really welcome this question. It is so important to small businesses that they are paid on time�I have heard time and again that late payments threaten their very existence. The construction playbook states that project bank accounts

�should be used unless there are compelling reasons not to.�

We are determined to crack down on late payments. We have announced regular spot checks on prompt payments throughout our supply chains, and in the Budget the Chancellor said that the Government will be required to exclude suppliers from bidding for major contracts if they cannot demonstrate that they pay within an average of 45 days. I welcome my hon. Friend�s work on this matter, and I very much enjoyed meeting her to discuss it. I know that she has built a wide coalition, and I hope we can continue to work together on these important issues.

[Jess Asato]

Pathways Care Farm is an amazing charity in Lowestoft that supports people with disabilities, those with mental health issues and ex-offenders to get back on their feet by working with animals and growing food. The charity has excellent outcomes, particularly with helping people to get work-ready and improve their health, but it finds it hard to access opportunities for public contracts, such as social prescribing, because it is so small. Does the Minister agree that organisations in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors and charities such as Pathways have an important role to play in providing solutions for the public sector?

[Georgia Gould]

I wholeheartedly agree. My hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) took me to a similar farm in her constituency that had been set up by an ex-prison officer. I have to say that it was one of the most enjoyable visits I have had�it was great for my mental health to feed some alpacas and goats. I have heard powerful stories about how social prescribing has changed lives, from ending chronic loneliness to helping individuals such as a man I met recently, who had found his first stable home in his 50s.

The new NPPS specifically asks contracting authorities to maximise spend with voluntary sector organisations, and we will be introducing targets for Government on spend with voluntary sector organisations and social enterprises. The Government have listened to concerns from local authorities and are working to implement changes to allow them to reserve competitions for low-value contracts for local organisations.