Councils, police and fire authorities in England to now be able to reserve bidding for lower-value contracts to just local and UK suppliers.

Reforms pave way for more than £1 billion of potential spend to be reserved every year for local and UK firms.

Latest in a series of reforms to open up government work to small businesses and create skilled local jobs.

Small businesses are set to benefit from £1 billion of funds every year through laws proposed today allowing local authorities to reserve some contracts for suppliers in their area.

These reforms are the latest in a series to unlock growth by slashing commercial red tape, simplifying the public contracts regime and removing barriers for smaller firms to work with government.

Under the changes, councils, fire and police authorities

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