Speak to a business owner who has put their company through a public sector tender and there’s a good chance that they’ll recount a tale of red tape, disappointment and wasted time.

The headline figures speak for themselves; while SME’s account for more than half of Britain’s GDP, they only win about 2% of the public sector's annual £100bn business in the UK. There’s something seriously wrong with that, and the government knows it.

It has set a target of 30% of public contracts to be awarded to small firms, but recent revelations of price fixing in construction contracts suggest that there’s a long way to go. An investigation by the OFT has accused industry giants such as Balfour Beatty and Carillion of colluding to price fix bids for public sector work. If corporate behemoths team up, there’s little chance for smaller companies to claim their slice of the action.

Even if you ignore these alleged cartels, the high cost of going to tender and a lengthy and intimidating bidding process is generally enough to put you off - research carried out by the Federation of Private Business (FPB) showed that 49% of business owners had been put off bidding for public contracts, with 28% of those blaming the complexity involved as the main reason.

When small businesses do make the leap and apply for a public contract, their frustration is often confounded by initial selection to the panel of shortlisted firms before ultimate failure and the frustration of watching the contract go to an established corporate player.

This is a debate that’s been rumbling on for some time now. Two years ago, the government launched Supply2.gov.uk, a web portal that provides contract notices for smaller public sector contracts, usually valued below £100,000. Unfortunately, it’s not compulsory for public-sector bodies to register qualifying contracts on the site, so at the moment the site is something of a missed opportunity.

It is possible to win business from the public sector, but you’ll have to be smart about the way you go about it. It’s worth looking into ISO 9001 accreditation, for example, which can help you show that your company adheres to best practice.  However, the long term solution will only come from obligatory quotas for SMEs that will force the culture change that’s so desperately needed.