Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the use of public procurement to provide university spin-out companies with opportunities to demonstrate and scale innovative technologies.

Government recognises the key role that public procurement can play in helping innovative firms, including university spin-outs, demonstrate and scale new products and services.

The Procurement Act 2023 supports contracting authorities to take broader value into account when awarding contracts, while the National Procurement Policy Statement encourages the use of innovative solutions by public bodies.

To support this, we have established a Commercial Innovation Hub to help departments adopt innovative procurement practices and accelerate the deployment of new technologies across the public sector. Additionally, each department is appointing a Procurement of Innovation Champion to support and advocate for increased innovation within their own departments.