Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 on small businesses.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a number of reforms to increase transparency, streamline processes and ensure prompt payment. These reforms were introduced to support all businesses, especially smaller ones. The impact of these reforms is being assessed by our Mystery Shopper service, who will publish a report on progress in due course.

Direct SME spend in central government increased from under £3 billion (direct only) in 2009-10 to over £12 billion in 2014-15 (direct spend and spend through the supply chain).