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Manufacturing and Employment

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will agree that small and medium-sized enterprises are a most important sector within manufacturing. They generate sustainable jobs and new enterprises. The problem for SMEs is that regulations affect them disproportionately, because they do not have the resources that big companies have to deal with them. I welcome the Government's procurement plan—they are leading us out of recession—but it is not available in small bites that SMEs can access. The Government need to target their procurement at SMEs as well as big companies.