Growing Your Business, published by the Prime Minister’s enterprise advisor Lord Young, said that micro-businesses and SMEs should not be required to complete what can be lengthy and time-consuming Pre Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) for public sector contracts with a value of less than the €200,000 (£170,000) EU threshold.
Additionally, the report called for public sector bodies to use a single standard PQQ to assess bids purely on technical skills and capacity, avoiding "gold plating with a plethora of different locally determined objectives".
The aim is to simplify the bidding process for SMEs by reducing the time and cost of tendering and improving their capacity for growth by giving them better access to contracts.
Another recommendation that the government has now pledged to carry out is the lifting of the cap on the government-backed Start Up Loan scheme so that those over 30 years old can access finance to start a business.
Launched in September 2012 and headed by entrepreneur James Caan, the initiative was initially only available to 18-24 year-olds. This was then extended in January to include those up to 30, but in line with Lord Young's recommendation, the cap will be scrapped entirely.
The government has also agreed to pilot a ‘growth vouchers' scheme worth £30m over two years to encourage small firms to seek specialist guidance on development, such as workforce expansion and development, marketing, financial management and online growth.
In his report, Lord Young said: "I believe that if we can use a voucher scheme that encourages small firms to seek external help, we can make a real impact on their performance."
Other changes pledged by government include the implementation of a Supporting Small Business Charter to incentivise business schools to help micro-businesses and SMEs grow, and better marketing of the many SME-targeted public sector schemes.
The government’s backing for Lord Young’s recommendations was announced by David Cameron at an event, held at 10 Downing Street yesterday, celebrating SMEs' contribution to the economy.
Attending the event business and enterprise minister Michael Fallon said: "We all want faster growth. As Britain recovers, small firms are leading the generation of ideas, creating new jobs and driving enterprise.
"Whether by encouraging more firms to export or opening up procurement opportunities, government is backing ambitious businesses by giving them the support they need to grow."
