Contributions
259 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPublic ProcurementAs I informed the House yesterday, I am bringing forward a major package of reforms to procurement policy. This includes steps to direct Government procurement in the national…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic ProcurementI thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue again. As I said in the House yesterday, Denby is an iconic British manufacturer, and I know the anxiety that the workforce will feel…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic ProcurementMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Communities should be benefiting much more from the taxpayers’ money we are spending on procurement. I believe he mentioned two businesses in…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic ProcurementI thank my hon. Friend for his question. I also met Royal Mail in my constituency recently and had a similar conversation, and I understand his point. As I say, I am not…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic ProcurementThe Government are, of course, concerned about the risks that my hon. Friend has mentioned. There are strong safeguards in the Procurement Act 2023 to preserve the integrity of…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic Sector InsourcingThe Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office updated the House on this yesterday, and he has answered a number of questions on that issue. I do agree that insourcing…23 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that. Social value should be integral to the system, but the current system has become too tick-boxy and does not deliver what it needs…23 Apr 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend raises an important point. He is right about the reforms that we are trying to make to public procurement, and to improve our number of electric vehicles. I will…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic Sector InsourcingAs I set out to the House yesterday, this Labour Government are ending the age of outsourcing. We will introduce a public interest test to require all Departments to assess…23 Apr 2026HANSARDPublic ProcurementThe hon. Gentleman is right to flag that concern, and it is something that the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister is working hard on with a package of reforms around…23 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyIt is always nice to have a kind invitation to come up the road to Burgess Hill. The hon. Lady raises a really good point. I do not know the specifics of the company, but she…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Obviously the shipbuilding industry is incredibly important for her constituency and for others around the country, and specific points in…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyThis is not the first time that my hon. Friend has raised this issue and we have met to discuss it. She is championing this important matter that addresses an inequity that is…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyTrade union rights are not inconsistent with what I am setting out. I am sorry, but I do not know what point the hon. Gentleman is making, because there is no requirement to have…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyI have to say that of all the questions I was mulling over when I was going through this, the impact on Jammie Dodgers was not top of my list, but maybe it should have been—I will…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyOn the right hon. Gentleman’s first point, we have robust processes in place on supply chains, which the Department for Business and Trade leads on. The announcement that I made…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyWhat an excellent question! I am afraid that I will have to get back to the hon. Gentleman as I do not know the answer— [ Interruption. ] None of the measures in the announcement…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyYes, the hon. Gentleman can. As he can clearly detect from what I am trying to say, the thrust is that I want to do more to support British businesses and industries, and I want…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyI would just point out that an opportunity is not a requirement. The question I was being posed was about a requirement to recognise trade unions—that is not the same as an…22 Apr 2026HANSARDGovernment Procurement StrategyI certainly can. I thank my hon. Friend for raising that company. It is exactly the kind of British company that we want to help and back, and such communities should have a real…22 Apr 2026