Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dr Phillip Lee (Bracknell) (Con)]

6. What steps he plans to take to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to secure more Government contracts.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

8. What recent assessment his Department has made of the extent to which small businesses are engaged with the process of public procurement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miss Smith]

We certainly will. We have appointed an SME champion in every central Government Department, all Departments have presented their plans for increasing their percentage spend with SMEs, something Labour never bothered to measure, and our mystery shopper service will continue to provide an outlet for challenging poor service and conditions.

[Julian Smith]

Many small firms are still concerned that public procurement is based solely on price. How can we ensure that quality and sustainability are also taken into account?

[Miss Smith]

The public procurement policy for central Government is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which covers a combination of cost and quality, as my hon. Friend would expect. Our mystery shopper service provides an outlet for challenging poor selection requirements, such as those he might have experienced in his constituency. I say once again that value for money is something that the Government like.