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Procurement rules to be changed to be simpler, more flexible and transparent

New procurement rules which will level the playing field for SMEs and drive economic growth across the UK have moved a step closer to becoming law this week (week of 30th May 2022).

The Procurement Bill is expected to become law next year. The Bill will tear up hundreds of complicated and bureaucratic EU rules and replace them with a single, simple and flexible framework for securing public sector contracts.

The reforms will slash costs and make it easier for businesses bidding for contracts, particularly smaller companies with less experience of procurement processes. This will result in more SMEs benefiting from contracts for everything from catering for public buildings to digital services and infrastructure projects.

Brand new digital infrastructure will make it easier and cheaper for organisations of all sizes to bid for public contracts, with a single digital platform that will hold all of a supplier’s credentials.

Publishing pipelines of procurement opportunities will also allow small companies to make more competitive bids, including forming consortia, while a commitment to prompt payments for a wider range of contracts will level the playing field for SMEs and help reduce the reliance on the same group of large companies.

The reforms are expected to accelerate government spending with SMEs, which new figures reveal increased for the fourth consecutive year to a record £19.3 billion in 2020/21.

Spending through SMEs grew by £3.7 billion on the previous year, with £10.2 billion of the total spent with SMEs directly and a further £9.1 billion through supply chains.

Click here to find out more on gov.uk