Procurement Bill to include measures to protect national security

New amendments to the Procurement Bill have bee tabled, intended to strengthen national security in government contracts.

The amendments include establishing a National Security Unit for Procurement, which will be based in the Cabinet Office, will investigate suppliers who may pose a risk to national security, and assess whether companies should be barred from public procurements. The National Security Unit for Procurement will respond swiftly to emerging threats, such as companies looking to win public contracts in order to gain access to sensitive information or sites which could be used to compromise government and society.

There will also be new powers to ban suppliers from specific sectors, such as areas related to defence and national security, while allowing them to continue to win procurements in non-sensitive areas.

The government has also committed to publishing a timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law from sensitive central government sites.

Minister for the cabinet office and paymaster general Jeremy Quin said: "Protecting the nation’s security has always been the government’s number one job.

"These new measures will protect our sensitive sectors from companies which could threaten national security and are a firm deterrence to hostile actors who wish to do Britain harm.

"This builds on the robust rules within the Procurement Bill to hold suppliers to account and ensure that the taxpayer is protected."

The bill is set to have its Report Stage in the House of Commons next week and is set to make it easier for small businesses (SMEs) to win more of the £300billion of goods, services and works that the government buys each year.

Cabinet office minister Alex Burghart said: "The Procurement Bill puts the government in a stronger position to get the best deal for taxpayers, while prioritising growth by cutting red tape and removing barriers for small businesses.

"It’s absolutely right we continue to look at ways to strengthen central government rules when it comes to national security and I have no doubt these additional measures will ensure the Bill delivers on its objective to have a robust, modern procurement process which delivers for the British people."

Image by Adrian from Pixabay