DCMS small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Published 24 March 2026
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How we are backing your business
Through Backing your business: our plan for small and medium-sized businesses, we are delivering the most comprehensive package of support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a generation.
Growth is this government’s number one mission and SMEs are the engine room. Our plan is to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship in every community and high street.
We’re delivering:
- the most significant legislation to tackle late payments in over 25 years, giving the UK the strongest legal framework on late payments in the G7
- a new Business Growth Service to simplify finding advice and support, including a new streamlined digital offer, ending the chop and change of previous government business support programmes
- a package of support tailored to high streets to make it easier for SMEs to set up shop, ranging from a new licensing framework to targeted funding for places
- a massive £4 billion finance boost to increase access to finance for entrepreneurs – to inspire the next generation of small business owners, make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, and build a culture that celebrates and champions entrepreneurs
We also committed to making SMEs a national priority, ensuring they have a fair opportunity to win public contracts and setting ambitious SME targets for each department. Each departmental SME action plan sets the steps government departments are taking to maximise SME and start-up spend across their department and wider agencies. These plans also include departmental targets for direct spend with SMEs and the actions being taken to remove and reduce barriers to SMEs bidding for government contracts.
The Procurement Act 2023 creates a more simple and transparent procurement regime, making it easier for SMEs to do business with the government. This action plan sets out why SMEs should work with us, where to find opportunities, and the actions we are taking to reduce barriers for SMEs in bidding for work.
The plan is monitored through an annual publication (as a minimum) of our direct spend with SMEs as a percentage of our total procurement spend.
SMEs are suppliers that have fewer than 250 staff, and have a turnover of an amount less than or equal to £44 million or a balance sheet total of an amount less than or equal to £38 million. For more information, see Clause 123 of the Procurement Act 2023.
DCMS Chief Commercial Officer statement
Our departmental commercial objectives include driving economic growth, achieving value for money and creating competitive and diverse supply chains - small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help us to deliver this. They are flexible, customer focused and employ 16 million people across the UK. DCMS is fortunate enough to have many UK businesses operating within its sectors, and we want these innovative suppliers to see us as a priority business partner.
Between 2024 and 2025, total employment in UK SMEs increased from 16.6 million to 16.9 million - an increase of 1.5%. SMEs consistently amount to a high proportion of DCMS spend and, as Chief Commercial Officer and departmental SME champion, I am keen to maintain a high level of engagement with small businesses across the UK. This plan sets out our strategy to give more SMEs the tools to confidently bid for DCMS contracts, including market engagement and training, and early pipeline publication. We will continue to encourage feedback from the sector to better understand their experiences of contracting with us.
I am proud of our work so far in this area and this action plan demonstrates our commitment to, and recognition of, the SME sector. Our ambition is to see SMEs play a larger role in our supply chains and drive economic growth for the long term across all of our sectors.
This action plan sets out the department’s three year 33% target for direct spend with SMEs and how we aim to meet that target. In line with Procurement Policy Notice PPN 001, the department will publish annual updated results for each of these financial years: 2025/26 to 2027/28.
Marc Bryant, DCMS Chief Commercial Officer
Foreword
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in driving innovation and growth within the UK economy, opening new markets and creating jobs. As the source of innovation, they encourage competition and bring fresh ideas that challenge the status quo.
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force in February 2025; this new legislation has affirmed the government’s commitment to SMEs in public sector procurement by writing into the regulations that public sector organisations must give due regard to SMEs in every procurement process that is undertaken. The Procurement Act 2023 regulations also introduced a number of new procurement procedures and transparency requirements to enable contracting authorities to attract SMEs during the bidding process.
The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) published in February 2025 also reinforced the government’s priority of strengthening the UK economy by focusing on increasing spend with SMEs as much as possible.
This action plan details the measures the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (‘DCMS’ or ‘the department’) is putting in place to maximise opportunities for small businesses whenever appropriate. It outlines how the department will continue to include SMEs in its supply chains and promote SME inclusiveness in procurement.
The government is committed to maximising spend with SMEs through supporting start ups and small businesses. As part of that commitment the department is focused on tackling barriers for SMEs contracting with DCMS. This action plan sets out how DCMS intends to maintain its engagement with SMEs.
DCMS’ previous SME action plan was published in 2023. DCMS has also previously published a separate Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) action plan providing a targeted approach to engagement with the VCSE sector, and will publish a revised VCSE action plan in 2026/27.
Further support to SMEs is available through the SME guide to working with government and the small and medium business hub.
Department overview
DCMS helps to drive growth, enrich lives and promote Britain abroad. We protect and promote our cultural and artistic heritage and help businesses and communities to grow by investing in innovation and highlighting Britain as a fantastic place to visit. We help to give the UK a unique advantage on the global stage and strive for economic success.
The department operates at the heart of government on some of the UK’s biggest economic and social issues. The role of DCMS has significantly contributed and shaped the UK into the nation it is today.
DCMS manages a large breadth of government policy and therefore requires its commercial function to procure a wide portfolio of services. As a result, DCMS has a diverse supply chain which includes a range of markets and suppliers. As a core department, we predominantly procure professional services such as research, consultancy and legal services, as well as delivering more diverse, often very high profile one-off events. Our reach further increases with the inclusion of our arms length bodies (ALBs) and major programmes who regularly engage with markets such as facilities management, construction and catering. But DCMS’ broader soft-power, means that the department can achieve a wider reach and influence than through direct spend alone; this includes the department’s ability to help secure even broader investment and support for our valuable SME community.
You can find out more about the department and its priorities in the DCMS Annual Report 2024 to 2025.
Why SMEs should work with us
DCMS values the incredible flexibility, customer focus, and ability to drive innovation and economic growth by SMEs. SMEs contribute significantly to the UK economy by creating jobs, opening new markets, and fostering innovation. We also value the customer-centric approach of SMEs, recognising that their focus on meeting customer needs leads to better service and customer satisfaction.
DCMS actively seeks to engage with SMEs through various initiatives in order to support their businesses to grow and contribute to a diverse and competitive supply chain. We recognise that SMEs are often more agile and innovative than their larger counterparts in the market, allowing them to adapt quickly to changing market needs and offer new approaches to problem-solving. Furthermore, DCMS is committed to maximising social value through procurement, and SMEs can contribute to this by providing local investment, creating jobs and apprenticeships, and supporting community initiatives.
As demonstrated by our annual direct spend figures, DCMS provides many opportunities for SMEs to access funding and grants. In addition, as shown in our actions and milestones below, DCMS has been working to streamline procurement processes further to make it easier for SMEs to bid for contracts and win opportunities.
Our actions and milestones
DCMS and its family of ALBs have historically seen a high volume of spend with SMEs, with our contracts for goods and services providing good opportunities to SMEs. To maintain and further develop opportunities for smaller organisations, DCMS’ updated SME action plan is set out below:
| Improvement action | Benefit to SMEs | Milestones |
|---|---|---|
| SME champions | To continue to drive the SME agenda within the DCMS family and to drive the commitments stated in this action plan. | DCMS Commercial continues to engage with leads across the department and the DCMS family who will support the delivery of the action plan. |
| Strong supplier engagement | Allowing for further opportunities for SMEs to work collaboratively with DCMS. | Following our previous SME action plan, DCMS has carried out a ‘voice of the supplier’ survey and engaged with our core DCMS commercial suppliers at a ’town hall‘ style session in November 2024. DCMS Commercial teams have been represented at wider SME-focussed events throughout 2025/26, and will continue to do so in future years. |
| Transparency | Allowing SMEs more time to review and bid for opportunities with DCMS. | Raise awareness of DCMS opportunities at the earliest possible stage so that they have the appropriate and necessary time to prepare. From 2026 onwards, DCMS’ regular published commercial pipeline updates will highlight anticipated work which may be directly suitable for SMEs. |
| Wider influence | DCMS continues to seek opportunities to drive increased SME spending across its economic sectors. | DCMS will continue to actively encourage wider bodies to demonstrate opportunities for SMEs. See case studies attached to this action plan. |
Our spend with SMEs
DCMS SME spend target
- DCMS has set a 33% target for direct spend with SMEs for 2025/26 to 2027/28.
The department keeps its own SME direct spend under regular review, as well as reaching out to the department’s many ALBs for their own organisations’ direct SME spend.
DCMS’ own annual spend profiles can vary greatly year-on-year. As one example, in February 2023 as part of a machinery of government change, the digital, telecom and technological teams within DCMS moved to form part of the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT); DCMS became the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
DCMS’ previous SME action plan, published in 2023, included an SME spend target for the DCMS family of 33%, inclusive of both direct and indirect spend. From 2025/26 to 2027/28, this action plan sets out the department’s commitments to maintain or surpass our revised target of 33% direct spend with SMEs. In line with Public Procurement Notice PPN 001, DCMS’ executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are included in the department’s revised target.
| Financial year | Direct spend with SMEs (incl. ALBs) target % | Procurement spend total(incl. ALBs) (£) | Direct spend with SMEs (incl. ALBs) (£) | Direct spend with SMEs (incl. ALBs) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019/20 | No target | £608 million | £268m | 44% |
| 2020/21 | No target | £614 million | £276 million | 45% |
| 2021/22 | No target | £685 million | £283 million | 41% |
| 2022/23 | No target | £732 million | £275 million | 38% |
| 2023/24 | No target | £859 million | £275 million | 32% |
| 2024/25 | No target | £598 million | £276 million | 46% |
| 2025/26 | 33% | To be confirmed | To be confirmed | To be confirmed |
| 2026/27 | 33% | To be confirmed | To be confirmed | To be confirmed |
| 2027/28 | 33% | To be confirmed | To be confirmed | To be confirmed |
Our payment performance
The government is leading by example and paying our suppliers promptly. Late payment is an issue for businesses, especially smaller businesses, as it can adversely affect their cash flow and jeopardise their ability to trade. The government recognises that the public sector should set a strong example by paying promptly. The public sector is required to pay their suppliers in 30 days and report on their performance on an annual basis. 30-day terms also apply in public sector supply chains. Our department’s latest payment performance covering financial year 2024/25 is set out below.
| Financial year 2024 to 2025 | Percentage of invoices paid within 5 days | Percentage of invoices paid within 30 days |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | 91.66% | 97.91% |
| 2nd Quarter | 82.21% | 97.28% |
| 3rd Quarter | 81.55% | 96.17% |
| 4th Quarter | 81.95% | 95.45% |
View our 2024/25 payment statistics
View further information on government’s payment policy and legislation
SME hub
The small and medium business hub is a dedicated space for SMEs looking to work with the government. Here you will find links to other departmental action plans and centralised guidance on bidding for government work.
DCMS’ broader influence- case studies
DCMS annual spending levels and total direct spend to support SMEs can be comparatively small when set against those of other government departments. But the department can have a much wider influence for good than could be achieved by direct spend alone, as the following case studies illustrate.
The Universal theme park and resort deal
Facilitated by DCMS, the government has secured a multi-billion-pound investment towards Europe’s first Universal theme park and resort. The deal is predicted to bring an estimated 28,000 new jobs throughout the construction phase of the project, with a further 8,000 within the creative and hospitality sectors post construction. Many of these new jobs will facilitate a range of exciting opportunities for SME suppliers looking to become a vital part of the theme park’s supply chain.
This development will have a transformative impact on Bedford and the UK economy. It will be a major contributor to the creative arts and tourism industries, generating nearly £50 billion of economic benefit for the UK and creating thousands of new, high-quality jobs. At opening, the theme park would be one of the largest employers in the region, with approximately 80% of employees expected to come from Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes, with many more communities benefiting from apprenticeships, training and educational opportunities.
This includes a supplier portal - This survey specifically asks suppliers whether they are micro, small, medium or large and the description states their intention to advertise opportunities to local businesses (likely SMEs). Please refer to the Universal website for any new updates.
Event management frameworks
DCMS is developing a programme of two commercial frameworks to provide a modern, flexible and accessible route to market for government event requirements. These frameworks should have particular suitability for SMEs and for VCSEs. They have been designed to reflect how the UK events sector operates and to ensure departments and ALBs can procure agency-led or specialist event services in a consistent and structured way. The first framework is being procured under the Light Touch Regime of Procurement Act 2023, allowing for a flexible and proportionate approach aligned to the structure of the UK events sector. The framework will operate through mini-competitions, with scope for direct award where appropriate. The second framework will be run as a regulated open procurement under the Procurement Act 2023, shortly following the first framework.
DCMS published a UK1 Pipeline notice for the Event Management and Delivery Framework on 28 November 2025.
Links to departmental commercial opportunities
Direct opportunities
DCMS’ own commercial pipeline is refreshed and published every three months.
It contains a forward look for 24 months for projects and anticipated procurements to be undertaken by the department.
View our DCMS pipeline of potential activities.
Search and apply for contract opportunities on Find a Tender.
Joining frameworks/Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)
Many DCMS procurements are managed through Crown Commercial Service procurement frameworks/DPS.
Please search the Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement pipeline for upcoming agreements, to see how you can join these.
Contact us
Email: commercial@dcms.gov.uk
You can find upcoming agreements and see how to join them by searching the Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement pipeline.