§ Mr. RocheTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what has been the outcome of his Department's review of measures taken to facilitate small firms' access to appropriate areas of Government procurement in the light of best practice; [6671]
(2) what progress his Department has made regarding establishing a contact point with responsibility for liaison and relevant business support organisations and taking forward small and medium enterprise related public procurement initiatives. [6721]
§ Mrs. Angela Knight[holding answer 19 December 1995]: The Treasury set up a central purchasing unit five years ago to deal with all matters relating to the procurement of goods and services within the Department. This follows advice on good procurement practice issued by the central unit of procurement and acts as a focal point for all suppliers' business inquiries irrespective of the size of supplier.