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Is local authority procurement supporting SMEs? An analysis of practice in English local authorities

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  • Kim Loader

Abstract

The UK coalition government wishes to improve the access of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to public procurement, in recognition of their importance to the economy and for the benefits they can bring to public procurement and the wider public sector. Local government provides a significant opportunity for small firms, spending £84 billion of the total procurement spend of £230 billion. However, about two-thirds of both small businesses and local authorities think that SMEs face barriers in successfully accessing public procurement. This paper examines how councils are supporting SMEs in the procurement process by analysing 67 entry forms to the ‘Best Councils to do business with’ competition. This unique data source has provided insight into councils’ attitudes and procurement practices, and demonstrates that although a wide range of supportive actions are being employed there is considerable diversity across councils. Ambiguities and tensions in policies, between local and central government, have also emerged.

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  • Kim Loader, 2016. "Is local authority procurement supporting SMEs? An analysis of practice in English local authorities," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 464-484, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:flgsxx:v:42:y:2016:i:3:p:464-484
    DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2016.1157068
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    Cited by:

    1. Kim Loader, 2018. "Small- and medium-sized enterprises and public procurement: A review of the UK coalition government's policies and their impact," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 36(1), pages 47-66, February.
    2. Tammi, Timo & Saastamoinen, Jani & Reijonen, Helen, 2020. "Public procurement as a vehicle of innovation – What does the inverted-U relationship between competition and innovativeness tell us?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    3. Arash Kordestani & Setayesh Sattari & Kaveh Peighambari & Pejvak Oghazi, 2017. "Exclude Me Not: The Untold Story of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-22, September.
    4. Michal Plaček & Martin Schmidt & František Ochrana & Milan Půček, 2019. "Factors Affecting the Length of Procedure in Public Procurement: The Case of the Czech Republic," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(3), pages 313-329.
    5. Hanspach, Philip, 2023. "The home bias in procurement. Cross-border procurement of medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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