Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 December 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 11 December 2017 (named day). It was answered by Caroline Nokes (Conservative) on Tuesday, 12 December 2017 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Public Sector: Procurement

Question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 134 of the Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to improve procurement tools to make public sector contracts more accessible for SMEs.

Answer

We are continuing to improve the performance and functionality of the Contracts Finder web site, which allows users to view and search opportunities that are currently open to tender, pipelines of potential procurement activity and awarded contracts.

Contracts Finder has recently been enhanced to deliver improved search for suppliers, a better experience for buyers and accessibility improvements for all users. New supply chain functionality and registration processes have been added to improve visibility of opportunities available to SMEs in the supply chain. In addition, organisation identifiers for suppliers and buyers have been added to improve our Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) implementation. Further enhancements will be developed and deployed by March.

In addition, the Crown Commercial Service will improve its digital procurement platforms to make it easier for suppliers to do business with the government, for example through implementation of the Crown Marketplace purchasing platform.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
117657
Session
2017-19
Related items
Public Sector: Procurement
Thursday, 21 December 2017
Written questions
House of Commons
Public Sector: Procurement
Thursday, 21 December 2017
Written questions
House of Commons
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Contracts Public sector Procurement Small businesses
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk