New portal for access to Government contracts

Small businesses will be able to access Government contracts following the launch of a new business portal.

There are more than 7,000 Government contracts advertised on the portal which is aimed at 'removing the barriers faced by many small businesses to access public sector contracts'.

More than 10,000 suppliers have also registered on the supply2.gov.uk site, which provides access to lower-value public sector contracts, typically under £100,000 in value, from central and local Government.

Lower-value contracts

DTI Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP said: "This new portal is a major step forward in the Government's commitment to support small business. It ensures that, for the first time, small businesses can access thousands of Government contracts in one place. It also enables businesses to register their details to ensure their expertise is seen by hundreds of public sector procurers."

Teresa Graham, member of the Small Business Council (SBC) and the Better Regulation Commission (BRC), said: "This is a wonderful step forward in the Government's agenda to remove the barriers faced by small businesses when trying to find out about opportunities to work with Government. It will provide businesses with a shop window to the lower-value contract market place. Online guidance will also help them to compete for the work."

The new portal was developed from a report authored by the Better Regulation Taskforce and the Small Business Council. The Small Business Service (SBS), with the support of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), procured BiP Solutions Limited as a service provider to build, maintain and develop Supply2.gov.uk.