George Osborne has called on Labour to open up the £125 billion Government procurement budget to small and medium-sized businesses.
The Government is the biggest purchaser of goods and services in the UK economy, but Labour’s bureaucracy means that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are locked out of this system.
Making it easier for small businesses to win Government contracts will provide companies with a crucial source of revenue during the downturn, helping to protect jobs across the country.
George, the Shadow Chancellor, set out the policy changes that should be introduced to get money to small businesses:
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Scrapping the rule requiring companies to provide three years of audited accounts when bidding for Government contracts
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Introducing a single pre-qualification questionnaire for Government contracts worth less than £50,000
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Introducing an immediate requirement that all government contracts worth over £10,000 are published online
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Introducing an aspiration that 25% of government contracts should be awarded to SMEs
George said, “Small businesses are facing a very difficult time and jobs are at risk. If Labour are serious about making a difference, they’d pull their finger out and get on with adopting these proposals.”
And he stressed that as well as helping small businesses, our proposals would also mean taxpayers could benefit from “the innovation and greater efficiency that small businesses can bring to Government contracts.”
Our package to open up the Government procurement process forms part of our action plan for small business, which also includes policies to defer VAT bills, cut payroll taxes by 1p and reduce the small company corporation tax rate.