Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that 33 per cent of government contracts are given to small and medium-sized businesses by the end of the 2017 Parliament.

The Government has already made a number of changes to its procurement processes to help SMEs, which includes banning the use of prequalification questionnaires for low value contracts; ensuring opportunities are advertised on Contracts Finder; and requiring the payment of all undisputed invoices in no more than 30 days.

All of the government’s strategic suppliers have now signed up to the Prompt Payment Code, boosting cash flow for SMEs and allowing them to invest in growth.

We have a national Small Business Panel made up of 24 experts who advise government on the barriers which businesses face when trying to supply goods and services to central government. The panel is working on a number of key issues which will contribute to the 33% target by increasing the number of small businesses contracting with government departments.

We will shortly be consulting on new measures to further break down barriers to entry for SMEs.

Finally, SMEs can use the excellent Mystery Shopper service - recently praised to me by the Federation of Small Businesses as 'stonkingly good' - to tell us about the problems and concerns they have in doing business with the whole public sector.