The government has met its goal of spending 25% of its procurement budget with small and medium-sized businesses.
Figures released by the Cabinet Office show that SMEs benefited from £11.4bn of government contracts, 10.3% spent directly and 15.8% indirectly, adding up to 26.1% overall.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has also announced that there will now be a mandatory 30-day time limit throughout the government supply chain to stop SMEs being victims of late payments.