SMBs grab larger slice of government procurement pie

Smaller firms bagged 40 per cent of government contracts in September, up from just five per cent in January

SMBs' share of government contracts has grown eightfold this year, the government's chief procurement officer John Collington has revealed.

According to a report in the Guardian, Collington said 40 per cent of government contracts awarded in September went to small and medium-sized firms, compared with just five per cent in January.

Collington was among a number of top officials talking up the government's efforts to open up more business to SMBs at a Cabinet Office conference on Monday.

The event, entitled The Crown and Suppliers: A New Way of Working, was also attended by the minister of the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude (pictured), who said: "Already in the past year we have started to see more transparency with the contracts finder website where businesses can survey everything on offer.

"I am particularly glad that over 1,600 contracts have been awarded to small and medium-sized businesses via this route."

The government's SMB-friendly stance on suppliers extends to the IT procurement space. In March, it promised to "put an end to the oligopoly of large suppliers that monopolise its ICT provision" and streamline the procurement process to help SMBs bidding for contracts.