Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises in the (a) aviation and (b) maritime sectors have adequate access to Government procurement contracts.

The Department for Transport runs a series of regional Meet the Buyer Small Business roadshows across the UK to highlight opportunities and encourage participation in our supply chains. This programme also enables the Department to identify opportunities to remove barriers to SME participation in our competitions.

In total the Department has hosted nineteen events with around 3500 small businesses attending so far. The programme is continuing in 2025/26 following very positive feedback from the small business community.