Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of publishing (a) direct and (b) indirect spend on SME by (i) department and (ii) contract type on the Central Digital Platform.

In February, the Government announced new rules requiring all government departments and their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs from 1 April 2025, and from 1 April 2026 for Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs), and publish progress annually.

Our intention is for all targets for spend with SMEs and the annual publication of spend with SMEs to be published on the Central Digital Platform for ease of comparison. This will drive greater transparency and accountability for increasing numbers of SMEs and VCSEs delivering public contracts.