The Cabinet Office has released figures that outline the positives of government procurement, with small businesses winning a record-breaking amount of work in 2021/2022.
Complimenting the government’s commitment to supporting SMEs in benefitting more from government contracts, the figures have shown that £21 billion of work was won by small to medium-sized enterprises over the course of 2021/2022. This is the equivalent of approximately £3.8k per small business in Britain. This is an increase of £1.7 billion, when compared to the year before, and is the highest since records began, whilst also representing the fifth year in a row that there has been an increase in government work being won by small businesses.
Businesses across all sectors were awarded government contracts, with these including:
- Public infrastructure: The building of schools and hospitals.
- Defence: The development of high-end technology to keep the country safe.
- Healthcare: Keeping the country healthy through clinical, medical, and digital health services.
With new rules in place through the Procurement Bill, all government departments and bodies will be required to consider small and medium-sized enterprises when they are going about their procurement. This will mean that more SMEs will be able to compete for, and more likely to win, government contracts thanks to simpler and more flexible regulations. Also included in these new rules are:
Jeremy Quin, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said:
“Today’s record-breaking figures demonstrate our commitment to ensure more small businesses benefit from public sector spending, by reducing barriers to entry and encouraging a more diverse market.
“One in three pounds of public money is spent on public procurement, which is why through the Procurement Bill we are improving the way it is regulated to save the taxpayer money and drive benefits across every region of the country.”
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