Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between William Bain and Nick Hurd

Wednesday 30th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

Obviously, if post offices are going to provide a service, they need to have the capacity to do that. I have had conversations with postmasters in my area. In the Pinner post office, for example, I have tried out the new technology that is helping citizens to get online and access services locally and to become more digitally capable, and I did not get a sense from that postmaster that there was a problem.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

8. What recent steps he has taken to reduce barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in Government procurement.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr Nick Hurd)]

This Government remain extremely committed to the process of trying to increase the participation of SMEs in central Government procurement, and we believe that at least an additional £1.5 billion has flowed into the SME sector through that process since 2010. That represents progress, but we know that there is still a lot to do.

[Mr Bain]

The Minister has just claimed that direct spend with SMEs has increased since the last election, but will he confirm that the recorded rise in the Ministry of Justice since April 2011 is in fact down to his officials, including law firms, offering legal aid services? When is he going to correct those figures to remove that inaccuracy?

[Mr Hurd]

I am not going to take any lessons from the party opposite. What we inherited in terms of SMEs participating in public procurement was no ambition and no data. This Government are supplying the ambition and trying to ensure that the data are as good as they can be. We are not taking any lectures from the party that had no ambition and no data.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between William Bain and Nick Hurd

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

T5. By 2014, civil society will be losing £2.9 billion a year in revenue—the same as the amount forgone in corporation tax by big companies in the United Kingdom. Why are the Government being so soft on big business and so tough on charities and the voluntary sector?

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr Nick Hurd)]

I reject that statement absolutely. The hon. Gentleman is pulling numbers for lost income to the charity sector out of the air and completely ignoring the volume of public sector contracts going in, not least through the recent Work programme, which is worth at least £100 million a year. As for big business, I would simply refer him to a speech made by the Prime Minister last year called “Every Business Commits”.