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Help for small businesses
28/04/2009
Public bodies should take six simple steps to give small business better access to public contracts, John Swinney said today.
Steps include requiring suppliers to pay sub-contractors within 30 days and using the free web portal to advertise contracts - Public Contracts Scotland.
Finance Secretary John Swinney has written to Chief Executives and Heads of Procurement throughout the public sector to promote access to public sector contracts for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), social enterprises and third sector bodies.
The six simple steps for public bodies are:
- Use the free Public Contracts Scotland portal which gives suppliers access to public contract opportunities
- Include in their terms and conditions a requirement that contractors pay any sub-contractors within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice
- Use outcome based tenders to allow for innovative and alternative solutions to public sector business needs
- Review contract award procedures to ensure that they place the minimum possible burden on suppliers
- Measure spending with SMEs via a Best Practice Indicator to identify trends
- Adopt the Suppliers' Charter which commits public bodies to improving the way they work with businesses
John Swinney said:
"Public bodies spend £8 billion a year on goods and services and everything we do has to support our economy. In the current recession and with rising unemployment, public bodies have a duty to help SMEs compete for public sector contracts.
"The public sector needs to build effective relationships with SMEs and ensure that suppliers can quickly and easily find out about these contracting opportunities.
"Our free Public Contracts Scotland portal - a single source of information for suppliers - has been live for six months. Already, almost 24,000 suppliers are registered and 3,000 contracts have been advertised. 108 public bodies have registered on the site, but I expect every public body to see the benefits and use Public Contracts Scotland.
"Taken together, these six simple steps will help to give SMEs fair access to contracts - public bodies must implement them as soon as possible to help Scotland beat the recession."
Public Contracts Scotland was launched in October 2008.
The Scottish Government cross-sector Procurement Policy Handbook, published in December 2008, includes guidance on working with suppliers. The Handbook requires that tender costs be kept to a minimum and that barriers to participation by small firms, the self-employed and third sector should be removed.