A radical shift of the Government’s procurement system is set to make it easier for smaller businesses (SMEs) to bid for and win public sector contracts.
The changes have been made in response to Lord Young’s recommendations in May of this year to create a SME-friendly “single market” for public procurement. On Thursday, Cabinet Office Minister Chloë Smith revealed the prospective changes to remove the barriers to entry.
All public sector contracts over £10,000 will be accessible from one single website, which will make it simpler and easier for smaller businesses to find the contracts currently out to tender.
The Cabinet Office is also banning long-winded pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for low value public sector contracts, and instead introducing a single set of standards to bid for high value contracts.
Ms Green explained: “We have consistently heard that the PQQs are cumbersome for SMEs. Small firms are asked to input repetitive information and questions are sometimes confusing.
“We mean to simplify the whole process and ensure that questions are standardised across the public sector, so whether small firms are bidding for contracts from local authorities or central government, the information they need to provide remains the same.”
The new changes also aim to ensure that the Government’s quick payment promise extends across the whole supply chain. An anonymous complaints system also will be introduced to name and shame the companies who do not pay on time.
The consultation period on the changes opens now and SMEs are encouraged to comment on the plans over the next four weeks. The changes will be put in place by the end of the year, confirmed Ms Green.
“With £230bn per year spent on goods and services right across the whole public sector, Government wants to seize the opportunity to help hard-working SMEs get on by competing for and winning this business,” she added.
Headway has already been made to make it easier for SMEs to bid for contracts. Since 2011, 12,900 opportunities have been advertised on Government’s “Contracts Finder” to help SMEs find opportunities more easily, whilst new procurement methods have halved timescales.
The Prime Minister’s Enterprise Adviser, Lord Young said: “I am pleased with Government’s response to my proposals, reflecting not only the huge growth opportunities that public procurement can offer small businesses but also the significant value these suppliers are delivering to all parts of the public sector.
“I want this to increase to reflect the growing number and importance of small businesses in the UK today.”
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