Small and Medium Enterprises

On 11th February 2011, Francis Maude, the Minister for the Cabinet Office announced a broad package of reform measures designed to significantly open-up the public sector marketplace to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) . The measures set out the Government’s commitment to driving growth in the economy, and removing unnecessary obstacles that make government procurement difficult for small businesses. These include

• The launch of Contracts Finder, which will be used to publish procurement and contracting information in one place, including procurement opportunities, tender documents and contracts.
  
• Government departments to publish a set of specific, targeted actions to increase their business with SMEs.

The Foreign Office has produced an SME Action Plan. This takes account of the predominance of overseas procurement for the FCO and the limited means to deliver increased non-UK business for UK SMEs.

Case study

Corporate Procurement Group has been working closely with Human Resources department to meet learning and development needs at The Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In line with Cabinet Office Policy, Procurement has used, where possible, the Government Procurement Service Frameworks to meet client needs.

 

The market for learning and development services is rich in small and medium-sized organisations, so Procurement pays particular attention to ensuring that there are no unnecessary barriers to participation, thereby enabling a diverse range of suppliers to bid for opportunities - meeting EU Procurement Directive requirements for fair, open and transparent procurement.

 

Over 70% of recent learning and development contracts have been awarded to SMEs from the GPS frameworks.

Further information can be found at the Cabinet Office website.