Opposition demands more public contracts for SMEs

The Conservative Party has urged the government to procure more public contracts to small businesses.

Earlier this week, the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne warned Labour to "pull its finger out" on procurement, suggesting that a quarter of all public sector contracts should go to small enterprises.

Following Mr Osborne's statement, the Conservative leader David Cameron has now stepped in to argue the small business sector's case.

Mr Cameron said: "We're saying have an ambition, make sure that at least a quarter of those contracts go to small businesses."

"Stop making small businesses jump through hoops before they get government contracts and make sure the money flows to them."

He added that smaller enterprises were the "lifeblood" of the British economy, and that the government should be doing more to help them.

Research carried out by FreshMinds on behalf of the Federation of Small Businesses earlier this month revealed that nearly 75% of firms felt there was lack of responsiveness in the procurement process.