Incorporating insights provided by Buckinghamshire businesses, BBF’s submission highlights staunch support for measures that promote the inclusion of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) in public contracts. 

Government has not yet published its analysis of feedback to the Public Procurement consultation. However, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) published its SME Action Plan on 20th October, including a variety of actions reflecting priorities expressed in BBF’s response to the Public Procurement consultation.

Circa 75% of suppliers on CCS commercial agreements were SMEs, while just under 11% of direct spend through these agreements was with SMEs. The plan sets out actions to ensure that SMEs represent a large proportion of government spend on procurement contracts. 

Below, we summarise our submission to the consultation and the areas where the CCS has reflected this feedback in its SME action plan.

Key Themes 

SME Spend Targets 

• In our response to the public procurement consultation we advocated for clear SME spend targets backed by annual progress reports.  
• In its SME action plan, the CCS commits to publishing spend data and monitoring progress but avoids setting a fixed target. It also notes that, currently, SMEs make up 75% of its suppliers, and 11% of direct spend flows to them.

Transparency 

• Our response to the consultation called for greater payment transparency and fairness in public procurement processes. 
• The SME action plan pledges to publish spend data, host meet-the-buyer events, and improve opportunity visibility through the Central Digital Platform (CDP). 

Process Simplification 

• Our response to the consultation recommended simplifying terms and conditions, streamlining documentation, and making requirements proportionate to contract size. Promotion of joint ventures and networking were also suggested as mechanism to help more SMEs meet the scale requirements to bid for public contracts. 
• In its SME action plan, the CCS offers SMEs hands-on guidance for CDP registration, clearer visibility of upcoming agreements, and supplier-specific articles. It also pledges to simplify terms through better communication. 

Prompt Payment 

• Our response to the consultation supported the approach of excluding bidders who fail to demonstrate prompt payment, providing exemptions were made for smaller contracts. 
• The SME action plan requires suppliers bidding for contracts over £5 million to show effective payment systems. The CCS also notes that they pay 90% of invoices within 5 days and 100% within 30 days, competitive with payment terms SMEs may have working with large business clients in the private sector. 

Social Value 

• Our response to the consultation strongly championed embedding social value in contracts, including KPIs and local focus. Encourages collaboration with the VCSE sector. 
• In its SME action plan, the CCS promotes the use of case studies, SME Champions, and standardized metrics to encourage social value delivery in public contracts with SMEs. 

Addressing Barriers 

• Our response to the consultation highlighted SMEs' perceptions of bias toward incumbent suppliers at the expense of alternatives, and called for stronger incentives for the public sector to engage with SMEs. 
• In its SME action plan, the CCS will implement a RAG-rated plan tackling 12 barriers to SME spend, as identified by the SME Advisory Panel. These include CDP improvements, tender pipeline visibility, regional events, and comprehensive SME datasets. 

In summary

The Crown Commercial Service’s SME action plan prioritises enhancing communication and providing clear guidance to encourage greater SME participation in public procurement, rather than focusing primarily on process simplification. Notably, there is a firm commitment to establish SME spend targets, monitor progress in removing participation barriers, and engage SME champions to disseminate best practices and share market intelligence.   

The full Crown Commercial Service’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) action plan can be found here.  

To learn more about the Buckinghamshire Business First response to the public procurement consultation, refer to this article.

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