While at SWEEEP, the leader of the opposition claimed that the Conservative small business procurement package would enable small companies – such as those in the waste and recycling sector – to generate more revenue during the economic downturn.
Justin Greenaway, contracts manager SWEEEP, said: “David and I spoke about the downturn in commodity values and he impressed me with his knowledge of the WEEE Directive and the way in which compliance schemes are funding the recycling of this new waste stream.”
SMEs
David Cameron outlined his intention to allow SMEs to protect jobs and increase revenue during the fall in commodity prices, and drew on the fact that many companies within the waste and recycling sector are small to medium sized.
Mr Cameron called for a number of changes to the £125 billion Government procurement budget to allow SMEs to compete for contracts, claiming that 75% of SMEs find it difficult to find out about procurement opportunities.
In moves which Mr Cameron claimed would benefit the whole UK economy, the Conservative leader suggested scrapping the rule that companies bidding for Government contracts have to supply three years of audited accounts, as it locks out new companies, and touted the introduction of a pre-qualification questionnaire for Government contracts worth less than £50,000, which would be filled in once and logged.
Mr Cameron also called for an immediate requirement that all Government contracts worth more than £10,000 should be advertised online to counter the feeling that SMEs don't find out about procurement opportunities.
In addition, the Conservative leader wanted to introduce an aspiration that 25% of Government contracts should be awarded to SMEs. In a model more akin to the US method, where there is a statutory minimum requirement for 23% of contracts to go to SMEs, this would raise the current amount of contracts going to SMEs by a minimum of 9%.
Patrick Watts, managing director and owner of SWEEEP said: “I think we are doing a good job for the country setting a standard for recycling that others can only follow. David's visit was a great tonic for us all at SWEEEP from managing director to cleaner.”
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