Public Sector: Procurement

(asked on 27th January 2023) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to increase cyber resilience in public procurement.


Answered by
Alex Burghart Portrait
Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 3rd February 2023

The Procurement Bill, currently being considered by Parliament, significantly strengthens the grounds under which suppliers that present unacceptable risks can be prevented from participating in a procurement.

As part of this, a new ground for exclusion will allow contracting authorities to exclude suppliers which pose a threat to national security. The Bill also provides flexibility for contracts to be upgraded to refresh technology and avoid gaps in capability.

The Government has taken steps to help support small and medium-sized enterprises bidding for public contracts in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying bidding processes. The new procurement regime will create a simpler and significantly more transparent system that will give opportunities for businesses of all sizes to compete for public sector work.The Bill includes a specific duty on contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing SMEs and strengthens prompt payment with 30 day payment terms applying contractually throughout the public sector supply chain.

This is one of the ways we are helping grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country - one of the Government’s five key priorities.

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