Almost three quarters of SMEs never bid for government work, a detailed survey of over 500 small businesses has revealed.

The survey was carried out by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

It found that the majority of small businesses believe that it is difficult to find out about government opportunities, that there is a lack of responsiveness and too much formality in the procurement and tendering process and that the timescales used require large resources to be responded to effectively.

"Small businesses offer great value to communities and by using them, money is kept within the local economy," said John Wright, national chairman of the FSB.

He added, "Small businesses should be made aware of the practical steps they need to take to improve their bids. We need to see actions implemented so we can ensure that SMEs are represented fairly when tendering for government contracts."