Big opportunities for small firms: government set to spend £1 in every £3 with small businesses by 2020

The government today set an ambitious target to get £1 in every £3 of government’s buying on goods and services being spent with small businesses by 2020. Read more about it here. 

• This would mean an extra £3 billion per year (in 2013 to 2014 terms) going to small and medium-sized firms directly or through the supply chain.
• The ambitious new target and measures announced today will get more small businesses working on government contracts.
• Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock is also calling on small businesses to sign up to bid for government contracts at gov.uk/contracts-finder
• Today’s announcement comes on the back of legislation that came into force in March to open up the public sector’s £187bn spend each year to the best businesses in Britain, large and small.

Useful links:

• The government Contracts Finder website:  https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
• Official government advice on how to tender for government contracts: https://www.gov.uk/tendering-for-public-sector-contracts
• The Cabinet Office twitter page: http://twitter.com/cabinetofficeuk