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Mr. McLoughlin: The Minister has just made an important announcement. Can she give us any idea how long that inquiry will take, and when she expects the inquiry involving both the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Transport to report?
Jacqui Smith: I cannot give an undertaking now about how long the inquiry will take because, as hon. Members have already pointed out, part of what we are talking about is people's feelings about the process. We want to try to identify where the evidence is, and decide what that evidence suggests to us.
As I was saying, the Chancellor said that the Government would review UK businesses' experiences, good and bad, of competing for public procurement contracts in other EU countries. That will include their concerns about unfair application of rules, different approaches to the application of the single market and international rules on public procurement, and the impact that those have on contract opportunities for British manufacturers and their workers. The Chancellor will announce details of the review later in the year.
From the success that Bombardier has enjoyed in recent years, I am convinced that its staff and management are well able to secure orders provided that they can compete fairly for them, and I am clear that ensuring that it can do so will prove a more effective way of securing the firm's future than seeking to skew the system artificially in its favour.
My hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North also touched on a broader issue of public procurement. The award of rolling stock contracts is, as I have said, a commercial matter for transport network providers, but the Government have a role in ensuring that an open and competitive procurement process occurs, while not prescribing where orders should be placed or stock manufactured.
We are keen to find ways of improving the way in which public procurement processes operate in this country, so that our manufacturing companies have the best possible opportunity to compete for business while delivering the best possible value for the taxpayer. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for
Trade and Industry hosted an event on 3 September that brought together representatives of manufacturing business, trade unions and Government to discuss practical steps that we can take to achieve that.That event, in which Bombardier participated, explored a range of issues that could help business to respond effectively to public procurement needs—for example, through better forward planning, greater transparency and increased professionalism in procurement and innovation. The Department of Trade and Industry is working with the Treasury and the Office of Government Commerce to ensure that the themes that came out of that event are used to inform the work that the OGC is taking forward in formulating an action plan for improving public procurement.
Rail procurement by private sector operators was not a specific focus of the event, but I am sure that the lessons to be learned are equally applicable to private and public sector procurement.
My hon. Friend asked about support for the company with regard to exports. UK trade and investment officials stand ready to provide help and advice, and are already in regular contact with Bombardier UK at the highest level. Indeed, Bombardier serves on UK Trade and Investment's rail sector advisory group, which helps to formulate UK Government export strategy, particularly in delivering Government support where the UK rail industry believes we can add value to its efforts in pursuing international business. I hope that, not only through that contribution but through the support that we can provide, that will help with those important export opportunities that my hon. Friend highlighted.
I welcome my hon. Friend's raising this issue, which, as he and others have pointed out, is clearly of importance to the company and its Derby work force. I have given, I hope, some sign of Government support and action, and some reassurance about the current status of decision making, but that does not mean that there is any room for complacency. I shall certainly monitor the situation closely, and my officials will continue to work with the company on its future strategy.
I must applaud the efforts of my hon. Friend, who is not only acting as a very important ambassador for the company and its work force, but talking to leading figures in the rail industry supply chain to try to help the company win further orders. That is practical and important work, and I can assure my hon. Friend of the Government's support in trying to find a way to achieve what we all want to see, which is the continuing efficient production of trains in his Derby constituency.
- Adjourned accordingly at five minutes past Five o'clock.
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