Government’s proposals to benefit SME public sector suppliers
20 September 2013
The government has announced proposals aimed at making public sector contracts more accessible to SMEs.
Fri, 20 Sep 2013The government has announced proposals aimed at making public sector contracts more accessible to SMEs.
Among the proposals in a consultation document published yesterday are the abolition of pre-qualification questionnaires for contracts below £100k, action on late payment and a commitment to electronic invoicing.
The government says it welcomes input to the consultation process that runs until 17 October 2013.
SMEs represent 99.9% of the UK’s 4.5m businesses, but just 10.5% of central government spend goes to them, against a government aspiration of 25% by 2015.
Cabinet Office minister, Chloë Smith, says: “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.”
Smith acknowledges that “historically SMEs have been shut out of government business. In the past bidding for public sector contracts was time-consuming, expensive and overly bureaucratic.”
The consultation document, ‘Making public sector procurement more accessible to SMEs’, acknowledges that late payment is “a key area of concern for smaller businesses… where access to cash is critical”.
And it says it is committed to see the standard terms that public sector bodies offer prime contractors to be passed all the way down the supply chain.
The government says it wants to move towards using electronic invoicing for all transactions.
The government also makes a commitment towards greater transparency by ensuring all new contract opportunities and awards are advertised online. The public sector will also report its performance on its spending with SMEs and on centrally agreed deals.
The proposals follow a report by Lord Young of Graffham in May this year, in which he recommended developing a set of “single market” principles to be applied by all public bodies in their procurement.
Azmat Mohammed, director general of the Institute of Recruiters, tells Recruiter that the proposals are “all good stuff” and that that they could help SME recruiters.
He welcomes the abolition of the pre-qualification questionnaire, for contracts of less than £100k. He says these questionnaires contribute to the cost of tendering, but serve no useful purpose.
However, he adds, “changing the process is one thing, changing the culture to take on small businesses is another. Purchasing managers play safe, and they don’t like to award contracts to small firms or those they don’t already know”.
Among the proposals in a consultation document published yesterday are the abolition of pre-qualification questionnaires for contracts below £100k, action on late payment and a commitment to electronic invoicing.
The government says it welcomes input to the consultation process that runs until 17 October 2013.
SMEs represent 99.9% of the UK’s 4.5m businesses, but just 10.5% of central government spend goes to them, against a government aspiration of 25% by 2015.
Cabinet Office minister, Chloë Smith, says: “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.”
Smith acknowledges that “historically SMEs have been shut out of government business. In the past bidding for public sector contracts was time-consuming, expensive and overly bureaucratic.”
The consultation document, ‘Making public sector procurement more accessible to SMEs’, acknowledges that late payment is “a key area of concern for smaller businesses… where access to cash is critical”.
And it says it is committed to see the standard terms that public sector bodies offer prime contractors to be passed all the way down the supply chain.
The government says it wants to move towards using electronic invoicing for all transactions.
The government also makes a commitment towards greater transparency by ensuring all new contract opportunities and awards are advertised online. The public sector will also report its performance on its spending with SMEs and on centrally agreed deals.
The proposals follow a report by Lord Young of Graffham in May this year, in which he recommended developing a set of “single market” principles to be applied by all public bodies in their procurement.
Azmat Mohammed, director general of the Institute of Recruiters, tells Recruiter that the proposals are “all good stuff” and that that they could help SME recruiters.
He welcomes the abolition of the pre-qualification questionnaire, for contracts of less than £100k. He says these questionnaires contribute to the cost of tendering, but serve no useful purpose.
However, he adds, “changing the process is one thing, changing the culture to take on small businesses is another. Purchasing managers play safe, and they don’t like to award contracts to small firms or those they don’t already know”.
