Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will issue guidance on how local small and medium-sized enterprise businesses can benefit from defence supply chain procurement.

The Ministry of Defence recognises the value of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to defence, and in 2015-16 direct spend with SMEs amounted to more than £700 million with nearly 5,000 different suppliers. Furthermore, we have taken positive action to provide SMEs increased access to the defence market.

In March 2016, a revised SME policy was published to make it easier for companies to work with defence. This revised policy, which applies throughout the supply chain, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-policy-for-small-and-medium-enterprises.

Key revisions include:

A new supply chain champion and a supply chain advocate network, to provide single points of contact for suppliers;

A reduction in bureaucracy and red tape; and

An online resource for suppliers that explains our policy, advises how to target funding streams, and signposts opportunities.

Improvements have also been made to the Defence Contracts Online advertising service, which, alongside the Government's Contracts Finder portal, provides suppliers with free access to defence opportunities.