SMALL and medium-sized businesses in the South West are at the receiving end of beneficial government reforms, it has been learned this week.

New legislation will open up business to the South West as figures show the government spent £11.4 billion nationally on SMEs in 2013-14.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has outlined radical new measures that he claims will be welcome news to small businesses in the South West. The measures, which cames into force on Wednesday, will open up government contracts to these businesses with new rules for faster payment.

Paying businesses on time is critical to the cash flow of smaller businesses in the South West where more than 44 per cent see late payment from customers as a hindrance to growing their business.

Under government new rules, the public sector is now required to pay undisputed invoices within 30 days.

Research has also shown that nearly 39 per cent of small and medium sized busineses in the South West don't know where to look to find new business opportunities.

In light of this the Contracts Finder website has been relaunched, at www.gov.uk/contracts-finder, offering a much improved search including by location. It means businesses in the South West will be able to search for contracts close to themm. The site covers current and future public sector contracts above £10,000 in central government and £25,000 in the wider public sector. It is free to use, including from smartphones and tablets.

An outline of the new legislation ensures that 30 day payment terms will be mandated down the supply chain - to suppliers and sub-contractors; public bodies will have to publish an annual late payment report to sharpen accountability; the bidding process will be simplified across the wider public sector with complex forms, such as pre-qualification questionnaires, abolished for low value contracts, and the procurement process for public sector contracts will be accelerated.

Mr Maude said: “As part of our long-term economic plan this government is overhauling public procurement to open things up to businesses of all sizes. Over a quarter of central government spend now goes to SMEs but we know there’s much more to do to support small businesses in the South West, and these new reforms show just how determined we are to finish the job.”

Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s Enterprise Adviser added: “Contracts Finder is a world first in terms of scale and ambition. It opens up government business like never before and levels the playing field for SMEs who in the past, didn’t know how to find public sector contracts, let alone bid for them.”

Dragons' Den entrepreneur Piers Linney who is a member of the government’s SME panel, said: “We know government business has been incredibly complicated and costly to bid for in the past, and that was reflected in the tiny proportion of spend going to SMEs. This new legislation and the new site creates a huge opportunity for SME businesses with reduced cash flow risk. They need to educate themselves on their rights under the new legislation and really get under the skin of Contracts Finder to make sure they can seize that opportunity.”