MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS FOR WELSH GOVERNMENT TO STRUCTURE PROCUREMENT SO THAT SMALL COMPANIES CAN WIN CONTRACTS.

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS FOR WELSH GOVERNMENT TO STRUCTURE PROCUREMENT SO THAT SMALL COMPANIES CAN WIN CONTRACTS.

Speaking after the Questions to the Finance Minister, Swansea East AM Mike Hedges AM said…. ‘The Welsh Government spends vast amounts of public money and it is only right that small and medium companies can compete for this business. I have had small firms in my constituency approach me asking why the Welsh Government organises procurement in a way which means they are unable to bid for the contract. The sad answer is often that it is often easier to administer procurement procedures with big contracts than many small ones. We should however open up all of the various procurement procedures so that small and medium companies can compete – and as I stated in my question – contribute to local and regional economies.’

Mike Hedges AM – The size of contract decides who is able to bid for it. The smaller the contract, the better the opportunity for smaller, local companies. Bundling up contracts to make one large one only benefits the very large companies. Will the Welsh Government support using smaller public sector contracts to support local economies? And this idea that you have one health budget—they purchase all the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board food from one place—excludes local firms. 10

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Rebecca Evans – Again, this is another area where I will be exploring to determine how we can best take forward this agenda to benefit those SMEs we have right across Wales, to ensure, as I said in response to previous questions, that they are able to maximise their take from that important spend that we make and the investment that we make.