Through a collaborative approach to how its procures services the public sector can bring real benefits to small companies, a politician has claimed.
Delivering the opening keynote at the GovNet Communications Procurement 2010 conference in London on Tuesday, Ian Pearson MP, economic secretary to the Treasury, said public bodies are perfectly positioned to "deliver benefits to the United Kingdom, through helping UK companies especially small and medium sized businesses, supporting jobs, and in turn, growth to the economy".
Pearson claimed that purchasing professionals in government have "long been undervalued," but that, "procurement is such a huge business and important to what we do that it should be at the core of departmental activity".
Approximately £220bn is spent by the public sector on third party goods annually. Some 90% of total government procurement goes to British businesses, with up to a third of that to SMEs, Pearson said.&n
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