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<p> </p><p>The Highways Agency has made the following progress in supporting the Department
in delivering Government Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) procurement policy:</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>made the use of Project Bank Account a default position
on all contracts awarded since October 2011. This considerably speeds up payment times
to the supply chain, including any SMEs. Highways Agency contracted business now accounts
for over 80% of the overall government target for directing spend through project
bank accounts,</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>increased visibility of SME
supply chain spend through contracts using a combination of strengthened contract
reporting requirements, project bank account data and supply chain survey. It is now
the case that over 30% of supply chain spend on HA contracts is with SMEs, and in
some cases this can be as high as 50% of overall spend. The SME spend through the
Agency's planned collaborative delivery framework, currently being tendered, is expected
to range between 30-50% of overall spend,</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>attended
and presented at ‘Meet the Buyer' events around the country, with the two most recent
of these being in Sheffield and Reading in late 2013. The opportunity was taken further
to reduce barriers for SMEs by helping them identify sources of information on potential
direct opportunities (HA website, Contracts Finder, Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)),
plus providing attendees with advice on how to seek extended supply chain opportunities
in relation to larger contracts,</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>launched
a new page on their website targeting and providing information for SMEs, linked here-
<a title="http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/procurement/supplier-selection-and-development/small-medium-entrprises-smes"
href="http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/procurement/supplier-selection-and-development/small-medium-entrprises-smes"
target="_blank">http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/procurement/supplier-selection-and-development/small-medium-entrprises-smes</a>,</li></ul><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>increased use of Open procedure through the procurement
process, with the Agency now looking, where feasible, to breakdown lot structures
in framework agreements to increase attractiveness to a broader and deeper supply
chain,</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>amended its Instruction for Tenderers
(IFT) in 2013 to state that “The Highways Agency is committed to removing barriers
to SME participation in its contracts and this includes sub-contracting opportunities.
If you are proposing to sub-contract part of this contract, you should provide assurance
that you have considered how SMEs could play a part and details of the measures you
have put in place to encourage and enable their participation as your sub-contractors.
If you are awarded the contract, we will ask you to provide regular information about
your spend with SMEs under the contract and may publicise good practice on our websites
and report such expenditure to other Government Departments'', and</li></ul><p> </p><p>
</p><p> </p><ul><li>become an active member of a cross government Cabinet Office led
SME Champions Group looking at strategic alignment, sharing best practice and promoting
behavioural change towards SMEs</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Highways
Agency awarded a Temporary Traffic Management framework (TTM) in March 2013 (estimated
value £660 million over 4 years). Breaking down the lot structure for this encouraged
application/interest from SME suppliers, resulting in one of the eight successful
suppliers being an SME (Forest Traffic Services Ltd).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More
broadly, since January 2010, 93 SME companies, names of which appear below, have been
awarded HA contracts and/or task orders via frameworks, for the procurement of a range
of goods, services and works with a total award value of just over £193m.</p><p> </p><p>
</p><p> </p>
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