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Question Time
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Small Enterprises
To ask the Scottish
Executive how it is creating more opportunities for small enterprises to
gain new business. (S2O-7995)
Nora
Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD):
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is creating more opportunities for
small enterprises to gain new business. (S2O-7995)
The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Allan Wilson):
Advice and support for small and growing businesses — including on
aspects such as diversification and internationalisation — are primarily
an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands
Enterprise, which work with local partner organisations.
The Executive has also been working directly with small and medium-sized
enterprises and their representative bodies to reduce the barriers that
they encounter in bidding for public sector contracts. The Deputy First
Minister recently met business representatives to discuss improving SME
access to contracting opportunities.
Nora Radcliffe:
I am very pleased with that answer, which almost pre-empts my
supplementary question.
I presume that the minister is aware that only 38 per cent of businesses
with a turnover of £25,000 or less sell anything to local government,
compared with 65 per cent of businesses with a turnover above £5
million. What progress has he made, through discussions with business
and local authorities, on making contracts in the public sector more
accessible?
Allan Wilson:
The member makes reference to discussions. We have had extensive
discussions with SME representatives and their representative
organisations, including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the
Confederation of British Industry Scotland, the Institute of Directors
and the Federation of Small Businesses, about improving SME access to
contracting opportunities. As a consequence of those discussions, we
have produced revised procurement regulations, which will place greater
emphasis on the need to advertise contract opportunities, a code of good
practice for purchasers and suppliers and a model qualification
questionnaire, aimed at standardising processes and reducing
bureaucracy. We are also making substantial progress on e-procurement,
to widen access to public procurement for small businesses.
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
Given that, according to answers that have been given to written
questions, much of the information is not held centrally, how will the
minister measure success in increasing the amount of business that is
given to small and medium-sized enterprises in Scotland through the
public sector?
Allan Wilson:
Direct business support for small businesses is delivered for us by our
economic development agencies, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and
Scottish Enterprise. We receive a regular update, the next of which will
be published soon, on progress on meeting our targets in "A Smart,
Successful Scotland". That will provide the information that Mr Neil
seeks.
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