Increased public spending good news for BiP’s customers
20 October 2008
The government’s announcement that public spending on infrastructure projects will be used to help drive economic growth in the UK is welcome news for BiP’s customers.
Chancellor Alistair Darling has stated that investment in major public works will be brought forward in order to enable work on these projects to begin earlier. Billions of pounds will be invested into building new schools and hospitals and improving transport infrastructure. While good news for the construction industry, such spending also has considerable spin-off benefits for private sector firms that provide services and equipment to support these projects. SMEs in particular are being targeted as potential beneficiaries of the government’s revised spending plans.
Commenting on the announcement, Ron Burges, CEO of BiP Solutions said: “The public sector is one of few areas in the UK economy where growth is forecast, and the re-prioritisation of spending will be welcome news for those who currently supply, or intend to supply, this market. The intelligence services provided by BiP Solutions deliver competitive advantage to our customers, enabling them to see and react to such opportunities faster.”
BiP’s Tracker service provides businesses of all sizes with information about new contract opportunities from both public and private sector organisations. Independent research commissioned in 2008 confirmed that Tracker is the UK’s leading source of hard to find lower-value contract opportunities (with a typical value of under £100,000). However, the high-value contracts published in Tracker also give SMEs a potential opening into the supply chain of larger businesses, should they act as a subcontractor.
The Chancellor’s statement on spending follows an earlier pledge by Prime Minister Gordon Brown that small firms which work for UK central government departments will be paid within ten days of invoice. Currently firms working for government departments have to wait for up to 30 days for payment; in itself better terms than those offered by many private sector organisations.
“The public sector is a good customer even when the economy is doing well,” Mr Burges added. “However, in a downturn it can become even more attractive, so we urge any firms that have not yet considered the government as a customer to do so. SMEs should also consider how they can become part of the supply chain for larger businesses that are working with the public sector.”
