Make public sector work available to SMEs

摘要

Ministers have outlined proposals to make it easier for small firms to win a greater share of the £230bn spent each year by the public sector on goods and services. Under measures being tabled within the latest consultation, suppliers seeking to do commercial deals with the public sector could expect a single set of standardised procurement arrangements. All government contracts worth more than £10.000 could be searchable within a single website and time-consuming pre-qualification questionnaires scrapped for low value deals. At the same time, a single standard requirement would be put in place for major contracts. Additionally, to help ensure prompt payment to small firms, the same terms would apply to companies lower down the supply chain as those offered to large prime contractors from government clients.