Procurement spending needs to be more transparent; I want to see this money spent as openly and efficiently as possible. However, in my view, the Procurement Bill does not go far enough and is a wasted opportunity.

Over £300 billion of public money is spent on procurement every year; a third of public spending and more than the NHS budget. Moreover, procurement is one of the biggest and most effective tools available to any Government to drive up standards across the economy and create world-class, affordable and effective public services.

If the procurement system is abused, then we all suffer from worse public services. Therefore, I believe that everyone is entitled to know where public money is going and how public contracts are awarded.

That is why my Opposition Colleagues and I support amending the Procurement Bill to implement a recommendation by the independent National Audit Office that any contracts awarded under emergency provisions or direct awards should include transparency declarations.

Amendment 2, which we supported, would have meant that any politician – be they a minister, an MP or a Peer – or senior civil servant involved in recommending a supplier for a public contract would have to make a public declaration to the Cabinet Office of any private financial interest held in that supplier.

However, the Government has now voted against such a proposal three times, most recently at the Bill’s Third Reading on 13 June. This clearly demonstrates the Government’s opposition to transparency.

Furthermore, I am disappointed that other amendments which would have strengthened national security and ensured procurement contracts respected workers’ rights were also rejected by Government MPs.

What is needed is legislation that will prevent cronyism, protect taxpayers, support British workers and ensure that every pound spent on procurement is in the national interest. Unfortunately, I do not believe that this Bill, as drafted, delivers on these ambitions.

Therefore, my Opposition Colleagues and I will continue to seek to amend it as it proceeds through Parliament.