Ms Clare McGrath:

There is a question of striking a balance.

Prior to the National Procurement Service the Office of Public Works through the Government Supplies Agency provided a shared procurement service for central government. We would have bought the paper, the uniforms and so on for Departments. There is the question of striking a balance and we sought to leverage the strength of the covenant against the facilities. That was done for central government purchases prior to 2009. There was a report which considered leverage and ways to optimise procurement. It is about striking a balance and getting a return on high volume low value goods and purchases for sectorial areas. For example, medical supplies are a very specific area, which one would treat in an unique way because of the risks attached to the nature of the procurement. It is a value proposition. I take the points made by members about giving small firms the greatest possible access to compete for contracts.