Shadow Chancellor condemns SME procurement process

The Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has condemned the government's current policy over procuring contracts.

In a statement published today (28 October) on the party website, Mr Osborne demanded that Labour make it easier for small businesses to secure contracts from the public sector's £125 million procurement budget.

By doing so, he added, the small enterprise sector would benefit from increased revenues, which in turn would help the wider economy.

The Shadow Chancellor commented: "If Labour are serious about making a difference, they'd pull their finger out and get on with adopting these proposals."

Mr Osborne added that small businesses were facing a very difficult time and that jobs were being putting at risk due to the economic climate.

Earlier this month, the Federation of Small Businesses claimed that opening up the procurement process to smaller firms would help the economy.