The Office of Government Commerce has launched an online procurement guide to help small bidding for £220bn of public sector contracts.

Today, the OGC has launched the Winning The Contract course to help small firms – including property consultants and developers – bid for government work. The guide explains the procurement process and shows businesses how they should submit tenders. The OGC says the public sector procures goods and services worth around £220bn each year.

It also gives tips to help businesses find out where public sector contract opportunities are.

The course builds on the OGC’s Policy Through Procurement Action Plan, which said the government could help support the economic recovery by giving more opportunities for small businesses to win government contracts.

Liam Byrne, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Small and medium-sized businesses are the enginer-room of our economy. We want them to harness the spending power of government to grow their businesses and create jobs.”

To find the full guide click here: Overview of Selling to Government

• One in three public sector payments are late
• Public sector wastes £15bn a year on procurement
• Government targets savings on £220bn spend
• CBI identifies £130bn of public sector savings
• OGC scheme Small Supplier, Big Opportunity