David Cameron has congratulated Balfour Beatty on a £1bn spend this year on contracts with SMEs across the UK.

The Prime Minister visited a construction site in Westminster to mark the investment, which Balfour Beatty say could support 50,000 extra jobs in comparison to their 2013 spend with smaller businesses.

Mr Cameron said: "Giving businesses the confidence to invest and create jobs is a key part of our long term economic plan.

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"Balfour Beatty’s commitment to spend a record £1bn on small and medium sized businesses this year is very welcome evidence that this plan is working – supporting thousands of extra jobs in the sector which will give hard-working people economic security for the future."

Matthew Fell, CBI Director for Competitive Markets, said: "Small, medium and large businesses work closely together day-in-day-out across the UK economy to create jobs and drive growth. And Balfour Beatty’s record investment is an excellent example of the importance to big companies of nurturing and supporting strong supply chains within their industries."

(IT)