§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to ensure that Government contracts support UK manufacturing. [83924]
§ Alan Johnson[holding answer 28 November 2002]: The Department is in discussion with the Treasury and the Office for Government Commerce to see how, while staying within EU procurement rules and the principle of ensuring value for money, we can make public procurement more open and accessible, especially for smaller firms. Significant progress has already been made in a number of areas of benefit to UK manufacturing, not least on construction, defence, textiles and SMEs.
In particular, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and Defence launched a new Defence Industrial Policy on 14 October 2002 (published by the Ministry of Defence as "Defence Industrial Policy (Policy Paper No. 5)").