§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what advice has been given to procurement staff on the implications of purchasing from small and medium enterprises; [6636]
(2) what work his Department has done to develop best practice in the publication of departmental procurement guidance material relevant to small and medium enterprises' needs;[6634]
(3) what progress his Department has made regarding establishing a contact point with responsibility for liaison with relevant business support organisations and taking forward small and medium enterprise related public procurement initiatives. [6713]
§ Mr. HagueI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 18 December 1995,Official Report, column 998.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings his Department has had since May 1995 with organisations representing small firms to review tendering procedures. [6635]
§ Mr. HagueNone. The Department plans to hold meetings soon with training and enterprise councils and Welsh chambers of commerce to discuss how access to the Department by small firms can be improved through the review and revision of procurement procedures.