THE MINISTER for the Cabinet Office visited North Wales ahead of the Government's annual spending figures with small business being released.

Jeremy Quin MP visited 'Wagtail', a small dog detecting business based in Holywell to discuss the range of dogs they train for explosive and firearms detection, vape and tobacco detection and live body detection. 

New figures, which underline the government's commitment to helping small businesses, show that small businesses across the UK are benefitting more than ever from government assistance.

In 2021/22, UK small businesses received £21 billion worth of work from the Government, equating to around £3.8k per British business.

The Leader:

Mr Quin said: "Today’s record-breaking figures demonstrate our commitment to ensure more small businesses benefit from public sector spending, by reducing barriers to entry and encouraging a more diverse market.

“One in three pounds of public money is spent on public procurement, which is why through the Procurement Bill we are improving the way it is regulated to save the taxpayer money and drive benefits across every region of the country."

Government work can range from supporting infrastructure, building schools and hospitals and developing technology to keep the country safe, such as Flintshire's Wagtail. 

The company provides detection dogs and related services for government departments and agencies including the UK Border Force, HM Revenue & Customs, Police, Trading Standards and Armed Forces. 

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Mr Quin explained that increasing funding that goes solely towards small business across the UK will have a ripple effect on the population. Wagtail, for example, is a company designed to protect public safety and welfare. 

He with Adam Vizard at Wagail learned about the business and its experience tendering for public contracts.

Under new rules all departments and public bodies will be required to consider SMEs when designing their procurements, meaning that more SMEs will get to compete for and win government contracts through simpler and more flexible regulations. 

The Minister was also eager to get involved with the demonstration, working with a trained dog called Pippa who was highly capable of detecting explosive devices in a set kitchen layout.