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Find tenders and contracts

We would like to encourage more local businesses to become suppliers for council services or products.

Local contracts and tenders

Public Procurement law is changing. The reforms will change the way that government procures and aims to improve the way procurement is done. The latest news about this is shown on our procurement page which also has links to useful resources.   

Ashfield Local business suppliers portal

We spend around £35 million on procurement each year and have 3 levels of procurement: up to £10,000, then £10,000 to £50,000, and lastly over £50,000. Each level of spend is managed in slightly different ways, however most often overlooked is the up to £10,000 spend.

This doesn’t require any complicated tender applications; procurement contracts can be authorised directly by department heads based on a single quote. The £10,000 to £50,000 level requires 3 quotes and the £50,000+ level falls within a framework and so tenders are required.

In April 2022, we launched an online directory for local businesses who wish to be suppliers of services - your business must be based within Ashfield to be eligible. If you register your business in this directory, then we may approach you for quotes for goods or services up to £10,000.

In January 2024, we began to use a platform called Mercateo that is a digital sales channel. Local businesses are encouraged to join this platform that will then be seen by not only Ashfield District Council, but also other local authorities looking for goods / products.  

East Midlands tenders search

Nottinghamshire County Council post their tenders on this portal, as do many other public sector organisations. You can register for alerts and have access to tenders that are outside the East Midlands region.

GOV.UK contracts finder

The Government contracts finder will let you search for information about contracts worth over £10,000 within the public sector and their agencies.

You can use this platform to:

  • Search for contract opportunities in different sectors
  • Find out what’s coming up in the future
  • Look up details of previous tenders and contracts.

  • website: GOV Contracts Finder

You can create an account to set up and receive email updates, and save your searches. Alternatively, you can use the system without an account to search and apply for contracts.

If you’re looking for higher value tenders above £118,000 in the UK, then you need to use the Find a Tender service instead.

Businesses can still use existing portals to view low-value or location-specific notices such as:

Other useful public sector tender websites

Suppliers can also register to increase their visibility to over 6000 government buyers by registering on The Supplier Registration Service for Government.

When considering applying for a tender you must ensure not only can you deliver it, but more importantly you can win it. A lot of time can be lost trying to go for tenders when businesses don't meet the essential criteria. Many new to tendering can make the mistake of applying for multiple tenders, thinking quantity is better than quality and again this approach will not yield a positive result.

It is better to think in terms of the strongest application you can submit.

Specialist research and development, and innovation tenders

NHS – East Midlands Innovation Academy

If you are interested in supplying your products to the NHS and don’t know where to start, then enrol on a series of free virtual webinars that explain everything you need to know to access procurement opportunities.

Page last updated: 19 February 2024