30 Sep 19: The government has improved its procurement processes for SMEs and acknowledges the importance of small suppliers, but there are important steps that still need to be taken. The Cabinet Office’s SME Panel advocates and supports government working better with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across every sector and every region in the UK. The panel works with the Cabinet Office and the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to lower unfair barriers to entry for SMEs that wish to access government and public sector contracts.