SME4Labour, supported by ReesWorx, is pleased to host a special breakfast roundtable bringing together SME leaders, policymakers and industry voices to discuss how the Government’s changing approach to public procurement and social value can create greater opportunities for Britain’s small and medium-sized businesses.
Public procurement is one of the Labour Government’s most important levers for supporting economic growth, jobs and investment. With around £90 billion spent through government contracts each year, the question is not simply how public money is spent, but who benefits from that spending — and whether SMEs are genuinely positioned to compete for and win public contracts.
The roundtable will bring SME leaders together with Mike Reader MP and Mark Ferguson MP (invited) for a practical discussion about what the Government’s procurement reforms mean for businesses on the ground.
A new approach to social value
In August, the Government brought forward PPN 026, introducing a new Social Value Model which will apply to relevant procurements from 1 January 2027.
The new approach focuses social value around delivering good British jobs, skills and opportunities in communities across the country. Under the new Model, social value will account for a minimum of 20% of the evaluation score for contracts worth £5 million or more, and 10% for contracts between £1 million and £5 million.
For SMEs, the changes present both opportunities and important questions.
The reforms are intended to simplify the system, with fewer criteria and less form-filling, while raising the threshold from approximately £140,000 to £1 million — taking many smaller contracts outside the Social Value Model altogether.
However, the new Model also removes award criteria that specifically rewarded supply-chain diversity and SME participation.
Does this remove an unnecessary tick-box burden for smaller firms, making it easier for them to compete? Or does it take away an important mechanism that helped SMEs gain access to public-sector supply chains?
Making sure the SME voice is heard
With detailed implementation guidance expected in autumn 2026, this roundtable comes at an important moment when the experience of SMEs can help inform how the reforms work in practice.
Mike Reader MP brings two decades of experience in infrastructure and construction delivery, including first-hand knowledge of the bidding side of major public contracts. The discussion will therefore focus not only on policy, but on the practical barriers businesses face when trying to enter public-sector supply chains and what government, contracting authorities and larger suppliers can do differently.
The session will provide SME leaders with an opportunity to share their experiences directly, identify remaining barriers to public procurement and discuss how the new framework can ensure that more small businesses have a genuine opportunity to compete, grow and create jobs.
Programme
- 8:00am – Guest arrival, registration and breakfast
- 8:30am – Roundtable begins
- 10:00am – Close