Mary Glindon
Main Page: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)Department Debates - View all Mary Glindon's debates with the Cabinet Office
(10 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)
6. What steps he has taken to address barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in Government procurement.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
12. What steps he is taking to open up central Government Departments to partnerships with small and medium-sized enterprises.
Miss Smith
I also welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment in his constituency to SMEs. I note that support has come from, for example, the Federation of Small Businesses, which says that Government policy continues to move in the right direction in this area. The forthcoming consultation, to which I referred, will make that public sector procurement market more accessible to SMEs, by requiring all contracts over £10,000 to be listed in one place—on Contracts Finder, for example. I also draw his attention to an SME friendliness tool that we published in June. I urge all colleagues to use that to hold contractors in their constituencies to account.
Mrs Glindon
What is the Minister doing to promote the use of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to help small businesses and social enterprises to win public sector contracts?