John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

Matthew Hancock

The Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts in line with our current international obligations. To this end we are seeking to ensure the huge purchasing power of government supports the task of boosting growth, and enables us to actively shape the UK market for the long term.

We are providing industry with visibility of up to £191bn of potential procurement opportunities across 19 sectors. In addition, we are working with businesses to identify and address any key capabilities needed to meet future demand; actively helping them to remove barriers and supporting growth through additional benefits that boost exports and drive innovation.