Chamber and committees

My question is about an issue that this committee, and its predecessor committees, have wrestled with over many years. It is about how we use procurement and public sector spending to support local economies, communities and businesses. We recognise that there is always a tension between trying to get good value for the taxpayer—which might lead to bundling of contracts into larger packages, thereby making them less accessible to local businesses, and particularly to SMEs—and trying to direct that spend to where it can support the local economy.

How have changes in the procurement legislation helped to give access to local businesses, if they have done so? I know that that is part of the work that Gillian Cameron does, so perhaps we can start with you.

Can you say a little bit about what your chain of communication is with people in the business community? Are they engaging with you on a regular basis?

We often get feedback from businesses who submit tenders and are unsuccessful but get no feedback about why they were unsuccessful. Do you have a mechanism to provide feedback to unsuccessful bidders?

All the questions that I was going to ask been covered by others, so, in the interests of time, I am happy to move on.

Good morning. This committee, and our predecessor committee, have been interested for a number of years in how we can use procurement to support local economies. Gordon Beattie touched on some of that in his previous answer. Can you say what is being done to proactively engage with local businesses about procurement opportunities?

I am sure that my colleague Brian Whittle will have lots of questions about food shortly. I ask you the same question that I put to Gordon Beattie about feedback to unsuccessful bidders.

Good morning to the panel. I have a slightly different question, which is on the impact on local economies and local businesses. I have been on this committee and its predecessors for many years, and that issue continually comes up when we talk about procurement. There is an issue about the extent to which we use the very large pool of procurement funds that are run by national public bodies, national health service boards or local councils to support local businesses. Every time we speak to the business community, that is a key ask. To what extent does the new, or newish, legislative framework do a decent job of ensuring that money is spent more locally?

Before I bring in the others, I want to follow up on one point. Is everything that you have talked about possible under the current framework? Is it just a matter of practice as opposed to a matter of the rules?

I have a question about the use of procurement to support local economies, which comes up time and again when we talk about procurement. There is a feeling that not enough is done within the system to ensure that the money is spent locally, particularly when it comes to things such as NHS boards and local authorities. I am interested to get your perspectives on that. Does the current legislative framework do enough to ensure that we direct funds to be spent locally? If there are barriers to that, is it an issue of legislation or simply an issue of practice?

David, do you want to come in?