smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

British businesses are missing out on public sector contracts worth billions of pounds because they are not advertised properly, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Public sector spending across Europe is worth €1.429 million (almost Ł1,000 billion), but the FSB has told the European Union that the way these lucrative deals are advertised, in huge documents that the average small business does not have time to read through, puts them at a disadvantage.

The lobby group also laments the fact that contracts worth less than Ł100,000 are not advertised at all. Although Approved Supplier lists are used, the way in which a business can get on to one of these is “shrouded in mystery”.

The FSB is asking the European Commission to help small firms by advertising public sector contracts more widely and allowing a business to register its interest without having to complete excessive paperwork.

FSB Policy Chairman John Walker says, "Small firms have to jump through hoops and wade through masses of red tape just to be considered for lucrative government deals. If the bureaucrats in Brussels are looking at ways to encourage enterprise, they should start by giving small firms a fair slice of government contracts and by reducing red tape to create a climate in which all small businesses can prosper.”

The FSB’s complaints form part of its response to a Brussels Green Paper, which looks into the disparity in start-up and business growth rates between the USA and Europe.

For more information, go to www.fsb.org.uk.

See also our earlier stories on bidding for public sector contracts and online trading with local authorities.

(8/7/03)

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