IT Management News

DTI to give SMEs help online

Kable

Published: 11 Jan 2005 15:50 GMT

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued a tender notice for an online facility that will provide small organisations with information about business opportunities for local and central government, it was announced on Monday.

It is hoped that the portal, jointly promoted by the Small Business Service (SBS) and Office of Government Commerce (OGC), will make it easier for business and government buyers to do business.

The portal service aims to be so easy to use that it becomes the main gateway for small organisations to access government sub-OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) opportunities. This is a crucial area of industry for the government considering that 99 percent of companies count as SMEs.

The portal launch follows one of the recommendations of the 2003 Better Regulation Task Force/Small Business Council report on reducing barriers facing any business wishing to become involved in public procurement.

It will build upon lessons that the OGC and SBS learned from the SME procurement pilots in the West Midlands and Haringey. The OGC hopes it can ease the process of bidding for potential public tender opportunities whilst allowing public sector buyers to get ready access to a very broad range of potential suppliers.

The scheme will additionally offer suppliers access to simplified pre-qualification documentation, develop "buyer awareness" training for government purchasers and help the SBS in the development of training and advice.

Chief secretary to the Treasury Paul Boateng said: "I am delighted that the potential advantages identified by the West Midlands and Haringey pilots have contributed to the process of breaking down the barriers facing SMEs when trying to do business with government."

"The practical help and advice that the pilots developed can now be rolled out nationally, proving that the pilots were not just a one-off project, but part of government's continued commitment to helping SMEs to access the public sector marketplace."

Small business and enterprise minister Nigel Griffiths said: "I want to make sure that small firms of all types have access to a slice of the public sector procurement cake. By developing a national portal to bring together buyers and sellers we can cut the time and effort that small firms spend hunting for contracts while increasing the options available to public sector buyers, helping to ensure better value for money for the taxpayer."