PROCUREMENT OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Early day motion 799, tabled 19 October 2005 by Baroness Ussher (Labour). Signed by 80 members.

That this House continues to be concerned that small UK science and technology businesses are at present significantly disadvantaged compared with their US competitors because of the absence of an effective UK programme similar to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme in the US, which requires that federal government agencies spend a minimum proportion of their research and development budgets with small businesses according to a regular, timely and transparent competitive process; believes that the commercial exploitation of the UK science base for the benefit of the UK economy is being jeopardised as a result; notes that the introduction of such a scheme would be of benefit both to the UK Government departments commissioning research and development projects and to the companies undertaking them; supports the announcement in the Chancellor's Budget speech of 16th March of a similar measure giving small technology intensive companies a guaranteed £100 million share of public sector research contracts, but believes that, because of the special requirements of innovation projects and the inadequacy of normal Government procurement processes to deal with them, this initiative will be succesful only if legislation is introduced to define the processes involved in a similar way to the legislation underpinning the US SBIR programme; and therefore urges the Government to support proposals to introduce such legislation in a form similar to the Procurement of Innovative Technologies and Research Bill presented to the House by Anne Campbell on 22nd March.

Signatures by party: Labour 65, Liberal Democrat 5, Scottish National Party 5, Conservative 3, Plaid Cymru 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.