SMALL firms should offer good value and have the right policies in place if they want to improve their chances of landing a council contract.

That was the message from Steve Davies, Medway council’s head of procurement, when he spoke to 50 members of Active Business Creation (ABC), an independent group of small businesses, in the Holiday Inn, Rochester.

Mr Davies told them that the council was working hard to open up opportunities to local firms but it was not as easy as it might seem.

It had to comply with the Public Contract Regulations 2006 and was prohibited by European law from favouring any particular supplier organisations. "We’re not allowed to," he said. "It’s a matter of law, not a matter of policy."

But small and medium sized firms (SMEs) had a better chance of success if they could demonstrate best value and have the necessary work-related policies in place. "If you don’t have the policies, write them."

He urged them to work together. "A lot of our opportunities are large in value and maybe too big for you in isolation. Consider bidding as a consortium or as a sub-contractor to a prime contractor."

Medway council spends around £190 million a year on procuring goods and services. Mr Davies said that in most cases, quality was the most important factor in awarding contracts.

As a way of encouraging more local firms to bid for a slice of that budget, Medway council is improving access to information through a forward procurement plan and regularly updated website.

Mr Davies said it was also intending to host workshops, training sessions and meet the buyer events to raise supplier awareness of council trading opportunities.

Forms were being simplified too. "One example is that we have managed to reduce our pre-qualification questionnaire to just 12 pages - a considerable difference to the previous 33 pages."