Bristol council tells local SMEs to 'come and bid for our ICT business'

Bristol council tells local SMEs to 'come and bid for our ICT business'

City council says it wants more than a quarter of its £25m technology spend to be with local SMEs

Bristol city council has announced changes to its ICT strategy aimed at ensuring that within the next three years 25% of its technology budget will be spent with local SMEs.

The council is planning a "more flexible approach" towards the procurement of ICT goods and services on which it spends about £25m each year.

On 4 September it is holding an event intended to inform small local technology companies about potential opportunities with the council.

In addition, suppliers will be able to hear about how they can make their services accessible to the Cabinet Office's G-Cloud programme without large bidding costs.

Jon Rogers, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, said: "Bristol has a thriving digital sector with many small and medium sized companies. But traditionally the SME sector has faced too many obstacles to winning work from the public sector.

"The government has recognised the need to change this policy and we support this move wholeheartedly.

"Our aim is that within a few years, more than a quarter of our annual spend on ICT is directed towards SMEs, and I hope Bristol firms will be in a position to gain from this."