Free trial for public sector contracts

Small and medium sized businesses have until the end of this month (July) to register for a three month trial which provides free access to thousands of public sector contract opportunities.

More than 87,500 contracts have been advertised on supply2.gov.uk since it launched two years ago, specifically aimed at smaller sized firms that benefit from tenders valued at £100,000 or less.

Business Minister Shriti Vadera said: "Many smaller businesses are more innovative, have lower costs and present better value for taxpayers than larger firms. We need to ensure they have better access to Government procurement to give them the opportunity to grow."

Businesses which register for the online trial will receive free access to contracts across the UK and Northern Ireland.

The free trial has so far been popular with small businesses. Eighty-six per cent of new registrants have less than 20 employees and 73 per cent have a turnover of less than £1million.

The trial is part of the Department for Business' Enterprise Strategy, released in March alongside the Budget, which outlines new measures to increase the amount of government business that is won by small firms. It also included:

• An independent review - currently underway - to identify where the Government can improve accessibility for SMEs to public sector contracts
  
• A change to the small print for government procurement that will allow companies, particularly small firms, to use invoice financing when competing for public contracts.

More than 3,000 new contracts are available on supply2.gov.uk each month from nearly 5,500 public sector buyers, including sub-contracting opportunities linked to the London 2012 Games. Nearly three quarters of buyers are from local government.