New legislation has come into effect end of last month, which is designed to benefit small businesses, by making it easier for them to bid for public sector contracts.
Central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2013 to 2014. The Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude has announced new figures showing that a record 26.1% of government spend went toSMEs.
The new data shows that central government spent 10.3% directly with SMEs, and 15.8% indirectly. View the data oncentral government spend withSMEs2013 to 2014.
A refreshed Contracts Finder website, at www.gov.uk/contracts-finder has been launched. It now has a much better search function, including the facility to search by location. Contracts Finder covers current and future public sector contracts above £10,000 in central government and above £25,000 in the wider public sector. It’s free to use, and you can use it from a computer or a mobile device
Here’s the basic outline:
- At the end of March, new legislation came into force that should open up the public sector’s £187 billion spend each year
- The legislation means the entire public sector supply chain will now be paid within 30 days -vital for small businesses. Everyone in the supply chain must comply with 30 day payment terms, including suppliers and sub-contractors public bodies must publish an annual late payment report, making their accountability more transparent
- A new version of the Contracts Finder website, launched on 23rd February, should make it easier and quicker for companies to find opportunities to bid for. https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
- The new rules make it easier for small and medium businesses to bid by splitting up big contracts, removing unnecessary bid criteria and questionnaires for low value contracts. https://www.gov.uk/tendering-for-public-sector-contracts. the bidding process is simpler across the wider public sector – complex forms, such as Pre-Qualification Questionnaires, are now abolished for low value contracts
- A service called “Mystery Shopper” also allows suppliers to anonymously raise concerns about unfair buying practices so they can be investigated and resolved. https://twitter.com/govmysteryshop
East of England feedback from small and medium businesses:
- 43% see late payment from customers as a hindrance to growing their business
- 36% don’t know where to look to find new business opportunities
- 41% find searching for new business opportunities too time consuming
- 31% are wary of working for new clients that might have bad credit
- 35% find putting together bids for new business too time consuming
- 32% don’t know where to get advice or training to win new contracts
- 15% are planning to bid for public sector contracts in the next 12 months
