We asked how government would ensure that it was not creating barriers preventing SMEs from getting on frameworks. The GCF commented that SME spend has increased from £11 billion in 2016–17 to £21 billion last year. CCS and the GCF explained to us how they try to make certain that SMEs are a market for the government, because they recognise the innovation that an SME could bring. They told us that, of the 11,000 CCS suppliers, 4,500 are new suppliers to government over the last five years and 8,300 are SMEs. GCF told us that it is hopeful that the Procurement Act will widen the use of dynamic purchasing agreements, so that they can have open frameworks that can be opened on periodic dates to let more suppliers in. GCF told us that, even if it is a four or five-year framework, it could let suppliers in annually or six-monthly, depending on how the framework is set up.47 45 Qq 34–35 46 Qq 65–66 47 Q 11 Competition in public procurement 15 2 Transforming public procurement Supporting wider policies and objectives through public procurement