Government Small and Medium Business Hub Goes Live

5 Oct 2020 01:19 PM

The new web page provides guidance for SMEs on the Government's commitment to supporting start ups and SMEs via procurement.

The Cabinet Office has published a web page providing centralised guidance for SMEs on the Government’s commitment to obtaining value for money and supporting start-ups and SMEs via procurement. The aim is for 33% of central government procurement spend to go to SMEs by 2022.

However, there a number of challenges and barriers for SMEs when it comes to supplying to government departments (Link to our SME survey results), so the government is looking to tackle these obstacles, and ensure a better experience for SMEs when supplying or contracting with government departments and agencies.

The new web page outlines how the government will be supporting their commitment, how central departments are supporting SMEs, how they measure success and provides helpful links.

Ways in which the government will be supporting the commitment include paying suppliers on time – with a target of 95% of all supply chain invoices to be paid within 60 days for organisations who want to do business with government; working with the SME advisory panel, made up of entrepreneurs and leading business figures to remove barriers and increase spend in goods and services with small businesses; and increased visibility of tenders and contracts through wider use of Contracts Finder. Can you redraft this para please? It should be a short summary of what resources are on the Hub, making it clear why it’s a useful resource. 

You can read more on the web page here, and you can even find links to Social Media accounts that will help you keep up to date with the latest happenings in government.