Marsham Street has said it supports ministers' aspiration to spend one in every three pounds of procurement cash on smaller businesses by 2022, despite going backwards last year.

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) officials this week responded to recent figures, revealed by The MJ last week, which showed Whitehall was falling far short of a target to spend 33% of procurement cash on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by 2020. Departments are currently so far adrift of the target that ministers have been forced to push it back beyond the next General Election.