§ 72. Mr. CranTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures are being introduced to assist and to encourage small firms in obtaining contracts from Government Departments.
§ Mr. CopeWe are making considerable efforts to assist and to encourage small firms to obtain Government contracts, primarily by improving the quality of information made available to them. We publish a booklet, "Tendering for Government Contracts", which gives guidance on what Government Departments seek to buy and the names and addresses of the relevant contacts. This information is also available on Prestel. Departments, including the Ministry of Defence and this Department, also publish booklets providing more specific information on the purchasing opportunities within their Departments.
Government tendering and approval procedures have been greatly simplified and contracts under £10,000 are now exempt from normal approval procedures. Government Departments are also under instruction to pay their invoices promptly.
Further assistance and information is available from the Department's small firms service which can be contacted by dialling the telephone operator and asking for Freefone Enterprise.