Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support small and medium-sized enterprises bidding for public contracts.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK economy. That is why we are making sure the power of Government spending supports this vital sector.

We are increasing opportunities for SMEs in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying bidding processes and strengthening prompt payment measures.

We are also introducing a duty for contracting authorities to have regard to reducing and removing barriers to SME participation in procurement, and removing unnecessary obstacles relating to audited accounts and insurance in the conditions of participation.

The new procurement regime we are putting in place will create a simpler and significantly more transparent system that will further open up public procurement to SMEs so that they can compete for and win more public contracts.