APHC Ltd. has welcomed the recent Treasury report: Making Government Business More Accessible to SMEs: Two Years On, which shows that the Government has increased its direct spend with SMEs from 6.5% in 2009/10 to 10.5% in 2012/13.

The report also highlights an increase in the amount of contract work being awarded to SMEs (some £4bn) from some of the government’s largest suppliers including Interserve and Laing O’Rourke.

John Thompson, Chief Executive, APHC Ltd. commented: “These figures are encouraging and show that SMEs in our sector are beginning to win more work through the supply chain process. However, what this report does not highlight is the issue of late payments and how many SMEs are still struggling to get paid on time. In the next phase of this scheme I would like to see more emphasis on formalising better payment terms for SMEs in addition to greater access to government contracts. Once this is addressed I am sure the numbers of SMEs looking to take part will increase further.”

Download a copy of the report and future actions from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-government-business-more-accessible-to-smes-2-years-on.