Free access to government contract opportunities

The site was launched in June 2006 to advertise public sector procurement opportunities and has published more than 132,000 contract notices, but until now businesses have had to pay to view them. Business Minister Shriti Vadera said: "Small businesses are facing significant pressure in this downturn and new contracts are essential for their return to growth. We want to support small businesses by making it easier to access the thousands of government procurement opportunities that are directly relevant to them. "This free service is an interim step along the way to introducing a single website for all public sector contracts next year." Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ian Pearson added: "By introducing a free-to-use national search service, we are helping to create a level playing field on which SMEs can compete with their larger counterparts. This will realise benefits for SMEs, the economy as a whole, and help drive further innovation in public services." This announcement follows last year's Glover Review, in which a key recommendation was that all public sector contract opportunities should be accessible through a single, free online web portal by the end of 2010.