Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Department has to reform public purchasing procurement rules to promote domestic industry.

The Government recognises the vital role that industry has played in helping to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak and in leading the recovery from the pandemic.

We have recently published our Green Paper setting out proposals and demonstrating the possibilities for public procurement rules reform. Our proposals are wide-ranging and are designed to better meet national needs by cutting red tape, reducing bureaucracy and helping to unleash wider social benefits from public money spent on procurement whilst respecting our international obligations.

Along with the above, we want British business to be in the best competitive position to win international contracts. To this end, our membership of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement gives British businesses access to £1.3 trillion in public procurement opportunities overseas.