Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether her Department has made an estimate of the effect on gross domestic product of standardising supplier assurance requirements across public sector buyers for contracts below the central government goods and services threshold.

Contracting authorities undertaking a below-threshold procurement have greater flexibility in designing and running a procurement and awarding and managing the resulting contract. This flexibility might include, for example, the ability to choose to restrict the award of contracts to suppliers who are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), or voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs).

Supplier assurance requirements for below threshold procurements are determined by the Contracting Authority, must not include a pre-qualification stage and must be proportionate.