Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on increasing involvement of small and medium sizes businesses in government procurement.

Further to my answer to Oral Questions 1, 7, 13 and 17 on the 27th February 2020 (Official Report, Vol. 672, Col. 448-449), we have already introduced measures aimed at tackling barriers faced by SMEs, including ensuring that opportunities are advertised and that departments consider using contract lots to encourage SMEs to bid for government contracts.

More small suppliers than ever are looking to bid for Government business and last financial year, we spent almost £2bn more with SMEs - a total of £14.2bn, which is the highest spend ever.