§ 3. Hugh Bayley (City of York) (Lab)What steps his Department is taking towards spending a greater proportion of its budget on goods and services supplied by companies based in developing countries. [144408]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas)DFID contracts are open to international competition from all sources. Suppliers must compete on price and quality and we do not give preferential access. The number of high-value contracts won by developing country firms against international competition rose from two in 2001–02—the first year in which we untied our aid—to 24 last year.
We have also given delegated authority to DFID's overseas offices to make lower-value purchases in local and international markets, which resulted in about 1,500 low-value contracts worth a total of £20 million last year. We do not record company origin for those services but many of those contracts will have been awarded to developing country firms.
§ Hugh BayleyAccording to the Department's answer to my question in May, last year DFID headquarters awarded only eight contracts to African-based businesses, worth a total of £10.6 million, and DFID missions in Africa awarded additional contracts of about £9.5 million. Given that the Government have almost doubled aid to Africa— to £1 billion a year— does my hon. Friend agree that there is scope for awarding many more contracts to African countries? What will the Department do, consistent with the good management of public money, to enable more African businesses to bid for contracts from DFID?
Mr. ThomasMy hon. Friend alludes to the fact that African-based companies are showing increasing interest in bidding for DFID business. There have been a number of notable recent successes, including the awarding of contracts to companies from Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa. My hon. Friend will be 1557 aware that since 1998 about £160 million has been allocated to developing trade-related capacity in developing countries, including countries in Africa. Included in that help is support to assist countries to develop their business sectors by supporting small business development and access to credit, and by increasing understanding of the standards that are necessary to win contracts from DFID and from other European countries. That process is under way. I would expect to see more African companies bidding—and I hope being successful, and winning contracts from DFID.
§ Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South) (UUP)Does the Minister agree, however, that sometimes purchasing officers are not imaginative enough in considering new bidders, and continue on old pathways rather than giving people an opportunity to sell their goods and develop properly?
Mr. ThomasWe need to do two things: first, to develop the capacity of countries themselves to support their own businesses to enable them to grow and develop and to exploit the opportunities that are available; secondly, to ensure that the staff that we have in-country are fully trained in recognising the opportunities and the potential for particular companies. With that in mind. we have given our staff appointed in-country training courses in procurement work so that they can exploit opportunities in terms of the local companies that could possibly do work for us.