Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Dugher and Chloe Smith

Wednesday 4th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Miss Smith]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s focus on this matter. He will welcome our review on some of the companies he has named, but it is most important to say that the Government are on track to deliver our aspiration of awarding 25% of central Government business to SMEs by 2015. We look for that directly and through the supply chain, and that is what helps us to procure for growth in this country.

[Michael Dugher (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

In a recent speech at an event called “Transforming Technology Procurement through SMEs”, the Minister for the Cabinet Office said with typical understatement that the Government were

“entering a new world for government technology procurement”

and launching

“radical reforms to increase opportunities for SME suppliers”.

Why, then, according to freedom of information requests submitted by ComputerWeekly, has only 0.52% of all the IT procurement spend for the Government’s beleaguered universal credit programme gone to SMEs?

[Miss Smith]

It continues to be pretty rich for the hon. Gentleman to come to this Dispatch Box when he and his Government did absolutely nothing to count the spend with SMEs when they were in government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Dugher and Chloe Smith

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Miss Smith]

I point to the fact that we are publishing for the first time a pipeline of projects and procurements that are available from the Government. There is £70 billion worth of opportunities available as of this year. That builds industry confidence to invest. I would also point to the way we are disaggregating ICT contracts, for example, which will allow them to be more flexible and cheaper for smaller firms to bid for. I note in passing that the Public Accounts Committee has said that the previous Government’s management of IT contracts was a recipe for a rip-off.

[Michael Dugher (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

In June this year the Minister for the Cabinet Office launched the Government procurement Solutions Exchange website, saying that it was

“an easy, informal way for smaller firms to find out about emerging opportunities”.

It all sounded very promising. Is he aware that for the past two months SMEs, when logging on to the website, have been greeted by the words, “Nothing available at this time”? You could not make it up. Why is that? Does not the phrase “Nothing available at this time” neatly sum up the Government’s complete lack of support for SMEs?

[Miss Smith]

I will tell you what is not available at this time, Mr Speaker: an Opposition policy to deal with any of that.