Commercial bidders and Government spend over £175 Billion per year on external contractors. It is now targeting to give at least 25% of this spend to local small to medium-sized enterprises and to make it easier for SME’s to bid by contracting such opportunities through a new free online website portal showing public tenders.

 

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 specifies all publicly funded work suppliers should have a Business Continuity Plan.  Defined by BS 25999-1 British Standards Institution’s Code of Practice for Business Continuity Management, “BCP” is a holistic management process that identifies potential threats to an organisation and the impacts to business operations that those threats, if realised, might cause, and which provides a framework for building organisational resilience with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of its key stakeholders, reputation, brand and value-creating activities”.

 

Tender Pre Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) usually ask “Do you have a BCP?”  Increasingly business buyers and government departments, local authorities and other public commissioners of work want evidence of a current BCP, in the same way as Health & Safety and employment procedures are requested. BCPs do not always need to be certificated to comply with BS25999, the British Standard for business continuity management, but they should adhere to recommended BCP Quality Management procedures. A qualified risk assessor will advise the best options.

 

BCP enables winning public sector and larger commercial contracts, and also protects directors and managers against personal liabilities. The Companies Act and Corporate Manslaughter Act require directors to show due diligence, independent judgment and reasonable care. BCP protects a business by preparing and planning against potential denial of access to key business resources. A BCP will identify how to manage resources cost-effectively, mitigate potential losses by prioritising key operational risks and the actions required to address each risk.

 

BCP shows the resilience of a business, competitive advantage, helps win larger contracts, can save money on insurance, facilitate financial funding and ensure faster disaster recovery. It identifies exposures to internal and external threats, provides effective prevention and recovery, improves competitive advantage and systems integrity.

 

Grant-funded support is also available to help SME’s manage risk and Business Continuity Planning

 

For more information contact Clive Bonny Clive@consult-smp.com 07973 799153

Clive is professionally qualified as a Certified Management Consultant in risk assessment and offers initial consultations at no charge and without obligations