Blog

When is a £19billion global conglomorate an SME?

When the government wants to pretend it's buying more from British small businessesIn 2015, Matt Hancock claimed the government would spend £1 in every £3 with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by 2020.

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Latest data shows government spend with SMEs continues to fall

It was in 2017 that I first stumbled on the data that made a mockery of government press releases and ministerial claims about the growth in business awarded to SMEs. I've detailed the

Blog

A brief history of Government promises to work with SMEs

'£1 in every £3 government spends will be with small businesses by 2020' looks like the kind of snappy attractive claim someone could put on the side of a bus. It's the

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The problems with public sector procurement in 2021

Dull old procurement has never been in the news so much, for so many of the wrong reasons. This post introduces a 'box set' of blogs examining the issues, particularly regarding public sector digital and SMEs

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Update on government SME spend — it's a smaller cow, AND it's been moved further away

The government has quietly released new data on spend with SMEs — and it‘s not good news

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Is it a larger cow or has it just been moved closer?

The truth about government claims about procurement from SMEs, and the myth of trickle-down economics