LOCAL councils and other public bodies should give more work to small business.

That is the plea from the Federation of Small Businesses which has warned that smaller enterprises are missing out on a share of a £117bn market.

In England, local authority expenditure alone is £42bn and councils in Kent have significant purchasing requirements.

FSB has launched an action plan after finding that only three per cent of small firms' main customers are public authorities.

Debasish Sen, vice-chairman for the FSB in Kent and Medway said: "Authorities need to overcome the myth that small businesses are high risk while big businesses represent best value. This is simply not true.

"Buying from local firms not only helps economic regeneration by investing in the community, but it is also a fast track to best value. Small businesses have lower overheads and local authorities can save money by purchasing goods and services from them.

"This action plan and our discussions with local authorities in Kent should help square those circles, providing best value for government, the Kent community and support enterprise."

The action plans calls on public bodies to advertise contracts more widely, stop aggregating contracts, make it easier to get on to approved supplier lists, appoint specialist purchasers, and provide constructive feedback for failed bidders.