(4 February 2009)

Small firms across the UK are being urged to sign up to the government's Supply2.gov.uk website and to take advantage of the thousands of government contracts available. More than 123,000 companies have already signed up to the website, which provides an up to the minute database of government contracts for small businesses wishing to supply to the public sector. Suppliers who have signed up to the site receive advice on how best to access government contracts and a free daily email alert notifying them of new opportunities that are relevant to their business.

Secretary of State Lord Mandelson said: "Every year the government spends many billions of pounds on public sector contracts. It is vital that we actively help small and medium sized companies take advantage of these business opportunities. In the current economic climate this is more important than ever. The supply.2gov.uk website is a crucial tool for this.

"SMEs often have smaller overheads, local knowledge and great flexibility. Often they can offer the public sector better value for money than big business".

Supply2.gov.uk Marketing Brand Manager Fiona Campbell said: "A recent refresh to the Supply2.gov.uk website in November 2008 has ensured the site is a more user friendly platform where registrants can benefit from increased information and better navigation.

"A key feature of the service, such as the Daily Email Alert profile, allows suppliers to match their contract search results exactly with their business requirements. Additional resources and information on interoperability relationships have also become more prominent on the site in order to further enhance the contract notification service."

Numbers of contracts advertised are currently at 109,500 with Supply2.gov.uk registrants benefit from access to lower-value opportunities (typically below £100,000) making them particularly relevant to SMEs. Examples of public sector buyers already advertising on the site include local government, health, education and housing authorities, emergency services and the Olympic Delivery Authority. On average there are over 3,000 new opportunities are advertised each month.