Now that Brexit is upon us, the Government are launching a new service from which information about public sector contracts can be sourced.
They have also published a green paper about transforming public procurement, which is currently under consultation. Further information about how you can have your say is detailed below.
Find a Tender – New Service Launched 1st January 2021
To comply with international agreements such as the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), relevant procurements in the UK must be advertised through a single point of access available free of charge. So, from 11pm on 31st December 2020, information about public sector contract opportunities in the UK are being published via a new service:
Find a Tender Service (FTS).
As of 1st January 2021, all new procurement notices from UK Contracting Authorities and Contracting Entities, including Central Government Departments, Executive Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies, wider public sector, local authorities, NHS bodies, and utilities. Are no longer published on Tenders Electronic Daily (TED – the e-supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union), because the European Union’s rules on public procurement no longer apply within the United Kingdom.
Any procedures which started prior to 1st January 2021 must still comply with EU law, so relevant notices should have been sent to TED, who would publish accordingly. If they were not published on OJEU TED before exit day, they will need to be sent to the new UK e-notification service, Find a Tender Service.
Procurement notices related to procedures published by 31st December 2020 will still be published on TED after that date.
Find a Tender Service (FTS) works alongside the existing UK public sector procurement portals where you can search for current opportunities for contracts, what’s coming up in the future and details of previous tenders and contracts.
These include:
- England – Contracts Finder: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
- Scotland – Public Contracts Scotland: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/search_mainpage.aspx
- Wales – Sell2Wales: https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/
- Northern Ireland – eSourcingNI: https://e-sourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml and eTendersNI: https://etendersni.gov.uk/
- U.K. Ministry of Defence Contracts will continue to be available on: Supply2Defence Tenders at: https://www.supply2defencetenders.com/mod-contracts/
- EU contracts will continue to be published on TED: https://ted.europa.eu/TED/browse/browseByMap.do
If you require assistance finding and reviewing appropriate tender opportunities, please speak to one of our friendly team members by contacting help@tenderhelp.co.uk or 07944500947.
We understand that sourcing tenders can be a time consuming and confusing process. We have therefore partnered with Contract Finder Pro who specialise in providing a comprehensive search and alert service for Public and Private Sector contracts, sending relevant tender opportunities directly to your inbox on a daily basis. With their service you need never miss out on an opportunity again. We’re delighted that we have negotiated a 5% discount off your first 12 months subscription with Contract Finder Pro if you mention that you are a TenderHelp customer.
If you want to ensure you don’t miss that crucial contract opportunity and to free up your valuable time, follow this link and register to secure your discount: https://www.contractfinderpro.com/register.aspx?refcode=TENDERHELP
Green Paper – Transforming Public Procurement
On 15th December 2020, the Cabinet Office published a green paper about the future of public procurement, and consultation will run from now until 11.45pm on 10th March 2021.
The proposals in the Green Paper are intended to shape the future of public procurement in this country for many years to come.
According to https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/green-paper-transforming-public-procurement,
‘the government’s goal is to speed up and simplify our procurement processes, place value for money at their heart, and unleash opportunities for small businesses, charities and social enterprises to innovate in public service delivery.’
Our next blog will provide a summary of the proposals in the green paper and what we think about them here at Tenderhelp.
Have your say! Please contact us with any questions or comments you have about the proposals at: help@tenderhelp.co.uk. We will include them in our response to the consultation, or you can answer the consultation questions directly at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/944252/Consultation_Questions.pdf and send them directly to procurement.reform@cabinetoffice.gov.uk by 10th March 2021.
Written by Helen Holland.