The small business service (sbs) has announced the development of a new opportunities portal for lower-value public sector contracts. the new portal, to be launched in spring 2006, is the first uk government-backed online service for publicising lower-value public sector contracts, typically under â£100,000. all public sector organisations will be able to publicise their contracts on the portal and, for the first time, all businesses will have access to these contracts in a single place. http://www.supplyinggovernment.gov.uk/

Welcoming the initiative, pcg chief executive john thomas said, "we are looking forward to the launch and hope that this new gateway will give our members and the freelance contracting community as a whole a genuine chance to compete for government business. public sector buyers will, in turn, have access to some of the best talent, skills and services available in the uk today."