Procurement Bill [Lords]

I give way to my right hon. Friend.

The Minister is starting out with the message that the Government are somehow able to do this bec...

I referred to the right hon. Gentleman as my right hon. Friend because he is so familiar from my ...

But is the Minister clear, now that he has left the Ministry of Defence, that the contract is not...

The right hon. Member refers to Team Resolute, and I am delighted that it won the tender. The maj...

rose—

But before doing so, I give way to the hon. Gentleman.

The Minister says that he is here to talk about a modern procurement system for the UK, but The G...

Alas, it is a great loss to me, but I have not read The Guardian today and I am not in a position...

rose—

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will allow me to make some progress. If I give two chances to ever...

Which line in the Bill will prevent, say, a future landlord who has a close relationship with a f...

If the hon. Gentleman has not read the Bill, I recommend that he does so. There is a lot of it, b...

Perhaps I could mention something that is in the Bill, rather than not in the Bill.

I welco...

It is a pleasure to respond to a question about a clause in the Bill, for which I thank my hon. F...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I will give way, but then I must make progress.

My right hon. Friend was making a point about ethics, so I will make a point about dependency. Do...

I would welcome the opportunity to speak to my hon. Friend about any amendment he might table, an...

The Minister is being generous in giving way. Can he indicate whether the Government will accept ...

That urgency is why we have published procurement policy notes on our commitment to net zero, jus...

The Minister is being incredibly kind in giving way, and I recognise his generosity.

What m...

That is a matter not so much for the Bill as for the operation of commercial practice. The outsou...

National Highways, for example, uses project bank accounts to protect its supply chain as a matte...

I am not familiar with the specifics of project bank accounts, to be perfectly frank. We have put...

Public procurement is one key way in which the Government can set a framework whereby employers’ ...

I do not think this is the process whereby we tell employers what they should be paying their emp...

I welcome this Bill, particularly because, as the Minister rightly points out, it introduces far ...

I thank my hon. Friend for the ideas he threw in our direction, which have been picked up. He is ...

When we talk about NHS procurement and the challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises in d...

I recognise the frustration of the company in my hon. Friend’s constituency. He should take up th...

rose—

I will not give way at this stage. I thank the hon. Gentleman for the offer, but I think I should...

On partnership between the public and private sectors, the steel industry is a crucial aspect of ...

The hon. Gentleman treads a well-trodden path. Through steel procurement, we are always keen to s...

I wholeheartedly support the Minister on that. I want to take him back to a previous point about ...

Ultimately, this is contractual. On the prime, that is easy: we will be paying the prime contract...

The Minister mentions trade deals. Both the Australia and New Zealand trade deals have a large pr...

I thank my hon. Friend for a most ingenious comment. I had not considered the calendar of the two...

Before I call the Opposition Front-Bench spokesperson, I wish to draw colleagues’ attention to th...

It is a pleasure to open this debate today on behalf of the Opposition. I pay tribute to the work...

My right hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Returning to the issue of the three fleet sol...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. As he says, using public money to make, buy and sell more...

I hope the right hon. Lady will welcome the fact that, as a result of the FFS award, we will see ...

I thank the Minister for that contribution, but he should put it in the Bill. He should work with...

The right hon. Lady is making a point of saying that we are putting in a VIP lane. Where in the B...

Yes. Clause 41 allows Ministers to use urgency as a new justification for granting direct awards—...

If life and public safety are at risk, does the right hon. Lady really think that there should no...

As I said to the Minister earlier, Wales and other countries had emergency powers to do things. I...

The right hon. Lady has taken one point and cherry-picked to emphasise it without looking at the ...

I will come to chapter 3, which addresses transparency—although, again, I think it is unambitious...

The right hon. Lady may not be aware, but the Infrastructure and Projects Authority audits all ma...

I say to the right hon. Member that we do not have a system that works. That is pretty clear to m...

I was trying to time my intervention for just as the right hon. Lady was finishing her remarks. B...

Absolutely. I listened to the Minister’s response to the hon. Member’s question earlier, and it s...

Order. I give a gentle reminder of my advice that speeches should last no longer than eight minut...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; how tactfully you remind us about the eight-minute limit. What a...

When covid-19 came in and the Government had to make big decisions, a number of SMEs in my consti...

That is the main point of the Bill, along with moving away from the European approach that essent...

Hear, hear!

I got a cheer from the Opposition Front Bench! I rarely get those, but on this occasion I have. I...

indicated dissent.

Madam Deputy Speaker is a hard lady; she shakes her head.

Let me conclude by saying that th...

I call the SNP spokesperson.

8.20 pm

Happy new year to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to everyone in the Chamber. Thank you for callin...

The hon. Lady referenced the devolution agreement, and she has just mentioned reserved matters. C...

Yes, I am referring to the devolution settlement and how devolution works. Within the Scotland Ac...

Order. My guidance is creeping down more towards seven minutes.

8.29 pm

I welcome much of this Bill, in particular its support for small and medium-sized enterprises, bu...

I welcome this Bill’s aims of openness, effectiveness and transparency. A third of public expendi...

As a former Defence Minister, I will confine my remarks to the Defence-related aspects of procure...

We now come to a maiden speech. I call Samantha Dixon.

8.48 pm

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am genuinely delighted to be speaking in this important debate.

As...

It is an absolute honour to follow such an assured maiden speech from the hon. Member for City of...

I commend my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Samantha Dixon). I hope her nerves have ...

I congratulate the hon. Member for City of Chester (Samantha Dixon) on her fantastic maiden speec...

The Liberal Democrats support the Government’s stated ambition in the Bill of speeding up and sim...

It is a privilege to follow the new hon. Member for City of Chester (Samantha Dixon). I congratul...

Procurement in Wales is very much a devolved matter. I would have preferred to see our Senedd int...

I call the shadow Minister.

9.34 pm

It is a pleasure to be closing this debate on behalf of the Opposition. I thank right hon and hon...

Does the hon. Lady not take confidence from the platform the Bill creates whereby a business or o...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that point. What we in the Opposition are trying to say is that th...

I warmly welcome the new hon. Member for City of Chester (Samantha Dixon). I could not help but n...

Will the Minister give way?

Oh, I would be delighted to.

I know that the Minister has to talk about Brexit and all the rest of it to please those on his B...

If the right hon. Gentleman had witnessed the consultation that was held on the legislation, he w...

No, it does not.

The right hon. Gentleman says that it does not, but the shadow spokeswoman, the right hon. Member...

Will the Minister please tell us when his single digital platform will be ready for use by indust...

The platform is based on a system that we already have. We are confident that we will be able to ...

I thank my hon. Friend for meeting me earlier today. It was enormously appreciated and I thank hi...

My hon. Friend raises an excellent point, which I was happy to discuss with her earlier. Obviousl...