In September 2011 40% of government contracts were agreed with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), compared with only 5% in January, according to John Collington, the government's chief procurement officer.

Collington was among government officials at the Cabinet Office's conference - The Crown and suppliers: a new way of working. For the first time, the government will publish information on its future contract pipeline. This pipeline will give an indication of potential ICT and FM opportunities, and potential Government Procurement Service frameworks including the Public Sector Network (PSN), which may be competed over this Parliament and with an estimated value of £5m or more.

Francis Maude, the minister of the Cabinet Office, said: "Already in the last year we have started to see more transparency with the contracts finder website where businesses can survey everything on offer.