SMALL busineses in Bury and throughout the North West will now have free access to thousands of lower-value Government contracts via its website.

For three years, www.supply2.gov.uk has advertised thousands of public sector procurement opportunities worth up to £100,000 — making the website ideally suited to small and medium sized businesses.

The fee that was previously charged to search the site across the UK will now be removed, a move which has been welcomed by Chris Fletcher, deputy chief executive and policy director at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

He said: “Giving businesses better access to Government contracts will help during this challenging period.”