Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closed NHS Supply Chain framework agreements on opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to supply goods and services to the NHS.

The NHS Supply Chain is committed to ensuring that its procurement arrangements support competition, innovation, and value for money for the National Health Service, while remaining compliant with the Procurement Act 2023 and other applicable legislation.

The NHS Supply Chain uses a range of commercial models to support market access and publishes a forward pipeline of anticipated procurement activity covering an 18 month period, providing suppliers with early visibility of upcoming opportunities and sufficient time to prepare to compete. Decisions regarding the structure and duration of framework agreements are taken following consideration of market conditions, competition, supply resilience, operational requirements, and the needs of NHS customers. Where appropriate, the NHS Supply Chain engages with trade associations and suppliers at an early stage to ensure category strategies are informed by market capability and to identify opportunities to improve access for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Procurement Act 2023 provides a range of commercial tools, including more flexible arrangements where appropriate, and the NHS Supply Chain considers these options during sourcing strategy development. Procurement approaches are regularly reviewed to ensure they continue to support innovation, effective competition, and the adoption of technologies that deliver benefits for patients and the wider NHS.

The NHS Supply Chain's engagement with health technology SMEs, including through its SME Engagement Forum and the NHS England SME Playbook, helps identify emerging innovations and informs procurement strategies so that future opportunities reflect developments in the market and evolving clinical needs. To support SME participation, the NHS Supply Chain works directly with SME suppliers through its bi-monthly SME Engagement Forum, which provides a mechanism for SMEs to raise challenges and help co-design improvements to procurement processes.