Lord Willie Haughey has urged changes to be made in the procurement process to allow small and medium-sized enterprises easier access to contracts offered by the UK Government.

Speaking on the Go Radio Business Show, he was responding to a question raised by a listener, who asked if procurement rules were actually built to work against smaller businesses.

“He’s absolutely right,” said Lord Haughey. “This question is timely, as I’m actually working on this issue at the moment with the UK Government.

“I’m trying to prove to them that the model they have for procurement is not built to get them the best deal they can or get the best bang for their buck.

“I think at a time like this, when the Government is looking to save every penny, it is certainly one area where I believe it could save absolutely billions of pounds.

Sir Tom Hunter agreed, adding: “It’s all about the buying. When I had my sports business it was all about the buying.

“Once you’ve sorted Westminster, maybe you could go to Holyrood!”

Lord Haughey noted he recently gave a talk at Oxford University to 160 people.

“Some were from the civil service and others from local government,” he recalled. “I actually said to the people in the audience, who were a huge part in procurement, they were going out to work every day – all these clever people – with one hand tied behind their back because of the rules. Everybody in the audience agreed.

“If we listen instead to the people who are part of the procurement process, I believe we can come up with a much fairer way to operate – one that would allow more SMEs to get a fair crack at the business the Government has to offer.”