New legislation opens up Government business to South West

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, today outlined radical new measures that will be welcome news to small businesses in the South West. The measures, which comes into force today, will open up Government contracts to local small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) like never before.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, today outlined radical new measures that will be welcome news to small businesses in the South West. The measures, which comes into force today, will open up Government contracts to local small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) like never before.

Paying businesses on time is critical to the cash flow of smaller businesses in the South West where 44.1% of SMEs (49.2% in Bristol and 37.5% in Plymouth) see late payment from customers as a hindrance to growing their business. Under these new rules, the public sector is now required to pay undisputed invoices within 30 days, and this requirement will now flow all the way down the supply chain. 

Central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with SMEs in 2013-14, as new figures showed that a record 26.1% of government spend went to SMEs. The new data shows that central government spent 10.3% directly with SMEs, and 15.8% indirectly - meeting the aspiration it set in 2010 for 25% of procurement spend to be with SMEs by the end of this Parliament. 

Today the Government launched a refresh of its Contracts Finder website, at www.gov.uk/contracts-finder, offering a much improved search including by location. The site covers current and future public sector contracts above £10,000 in central government and £25,000 in the wider public sector. It’s free to use, including from smartphones and tablets, and so businesses in the South West will be able to search for contracts close to them. 

New legislation which comes into force today ensures that:

• 30 day payment terms will be mandated down the supply chain - to suppliers and sub-contractors; 

• Public bodies will have to publish an annual late payment report to sharpen accountability;

• The bidding process will be simplified across the wider public sector with complex forms, such as Pre-Qualification Questionnaires, abolished for low value contracts;

• The procurement process for public sector contracts will be accelerated.

 David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, said: “The new Contracts Finder website is a great central point for SMEs to find bidding opportunities. Alongside the new legislation on payment terms, which are vital to the success of SMEs, these changes are really positive for Gloucestershire businesses. Now that the process has been made simpler it will be less daunting, encouraging businesses to get involved with public sector bidding.”

Mike Johnson, Managing Director at Fusion Design, commented: “I would highly recommend that SMEs look and bid for business from the public sector. We have come across opportunities that have become an extremely important part of our company, leading to new business ventures throughout the UK. The bidding process through online tendering portals are really easy to set up, as well as being clear and detailed, saving us a great deal of time when submitting proposals.”

For more information on this please visit the government website