TheForum of Private
Business(FPB), an SME lobby group, is advising small
and medium businesses to use the government'ssupply2.gov.uk
portalto win public contracts, following the
government's decision toscrap its £180 a year chargeto access the
site.
The government said yesterday that the site, which lists
government contracts worth up to £100,000, would be free in future.
This is the first step to creating a single portal for advertising
all government procurement bids, worth some £175bn a year.
Tim Williams, managing director of Millstream Associates and the
FPB's advisor on public sector tendering, said business owners
should act quickly. "Public spending levels are staying constant at
the moment and some spending is being brought forward to boost the
economy, but there will be cuts in future, so make hay while the
sun shines," he said.
The move to cut the access cost follows recommendations made in
the
Glover
review of public procurement, which found that public sector
buyers were missing out on innovation and savings because too few
small businesses knew about contracts on offer.
One of the Glover review's key recommendations was to give
greater transparency to public sector tenders via better
advertising and more information accessible through a single,
free-to-use and easy-to-search online portal.
The FPB urged the government to fast-track the other measures in
the review, most of which are scheduled for 2010. "They will help
save more small firms and provide a catalyst for economic
recovery," said the FPB's policy representative, Matt Goodman.