G-Cloud 15 is the current version of the UK government’s G-Cloud framework. It was awarded on 6 August 2026 and opened to public sector buyers in September 2026. GCA’s RM1557.15 agreement page states that “G-Cloud 15 has replaced G-Cloud 14”. The page also gives a start date of 06/08/2026 and publishes the buyer guidance and per-lot access. The initial application window ran from 23 October 2025 to 30 January 2026 and has closed. These are the questions suppliers ask most often about it, answered as at 22 September 2026.
For how the framework works in depth, see our Ultimate Guide to G-Cloud. For what to do in the current phase, see G-Cloud 15: what you need to do right now.
What is G-Cloud 15?
G-Cloud 15 (agreement reference RM1557.15) is the current iteration of the UK government’s G-Cloud framework. Public sector organisations use it to buy cloud hosting, software and support from pre-approved suppliers, without a full tender each time. It is managed by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), formerly the Crown Commercial Service. G-Cloud 15 is the first G-Cloud procured and operated fully under the Procurement Act 2023. It is also the first to run as an open framework. By our count, as at early October 2026, G-Cloud 15 has 4,376 suppliers across 42,095 listings.
When does G-Cloud 15 go live?
It already has. GCA’s RM1557.15 agreement page states that “G-Cloud 15 has replaced G-Cloud 14” and gives a start date of 06/08/2026. It also publishes the buyer guidance, both call-off procedures and an access link for each of the five lots. Go-live was originally expected in mid-August and moved once, to the week commencing 7 September 2026. In an update on the RM1557.15 agreement page, GCA said it had “taken the decision to allow some additional time”. The extra time was to complete readiness and assurance work before go-live. G-Cloud 14 remains available until it expires on Wednesday 28 October 2026. So there is no gap in cover for buyers. Dates on this framework have moved before, so check the GCA agreement page before you plan around one.
How much has been spent through G-Cloud?
More than £24 billion has been spent through G-Cloud since it launched in 2012, with £2.9 billion in FY24/25. Those figures come from our own G-Cloud spend data tool. The tool is built on the sales data GCA publishes monthly and breaks spend down by supplier, buyer and lot. For G-Cloud 15 itself, the tender notice puts the framework’s estimated value at £14 billion excluding VAT over four years.
What are the G-Cloud 15 lots?
G-Cloud 15 has five lots in three families. Hosting comes first: Lot 1a Cloud Hosting, and Lot 1b Cloud Hosting for services delivered above the OFFICIAL security classification. Software comes next: Lot 2a Infrastructure Software as a Service and Lot 2b Software as a Service. Finally, there is Lot 3 Cloud Support. Lot 1b is defined by the classification of the data being hosted, not by the type of supplier. This is a change from G-Cloud 14, which ran Lots 1 to 3 plus a separately managed Lot 4. Our Ultimate Guide to G-Cloud sets out what each lot covers. It includes a diagram and the supplier numbers awarded to each.
What changed from G-Cloud 14 to G-Cloud 15?
G-Cloud 15 is the biggest structural change to G-Cloud in several iterations. It is the first G-Cloud under the Procurement Act 2023 and the first run as an open framework. It consolidates the G-Cloud 14 lots and the Cloud Compute 2 framework into one agreement of five lots. Buyers can use either call-off procedure, award with competition or award without competition, on every lot. By contrast, G-Cloud 14 allowed award without competition only on Lots 1 to 3. Call-off contracts can also run considerably longer. And G-Cloud 15 now evaluates suppliers on quality, price and social value, rather than only checking compliance. Our Ultimate Guide to G-Cloud has the full comparison, including call-off terms per lot.
Who is G-Cloud 15 for?
G-Cloud 15 is for suppliers of genuine, off-the-shelf cloud services: cloud hosting, cloud software and cloud support. It excludes standalone hardware sales. Bespoke build work belongs on the Digital Outcomes and Specialists framework instead, currently DOS7. Every service has to sit clearly within one of the five lots. The RM1557.15 framework documentation sets out each lot’s precise scope. The G-Cloud 15 tender notice also records the maximum number of suppliers as unlimited. So eligibility turns on what you sell rather than how big you are. Our Ultimate Guide to G-Cloud sets out the eligibility rules in full.
How will the application work at the next reopening?
The initial G-Cloud 15 application window closed on 30 January 2026. Because G-Cloud 15 is an open framework, the next route in is a reopening rather than a new iteration. You make and manage applications on GCA’s Digital Marketplace, the Apply to Supply platform. Before bidding, suppliers register on Find a Tender, the central digital platform. An application covers your service listings, a service definition document, pricing and terms. It also includes the compliance evidence the framework requires. Unlike earlier iterations, G-Cloud 15 evaluates quality, price and social value rather than only checking compliance. So the written responses carry real weight. Our action page covers what to prepare in the meantime.
How do public sector buyers buy through G-Cloud 15?
Buyers document their requirements, search the Digital Marketplace catalogue and filter to matching services. GCA’s agreement page lists “two call-off procedures: award with competition and award without competition”. Both, previously called further competition and direct award, are available on all five lots. Under award without competition, the framework supplies the selection rule, and GCA’s page says buyers “Award based on lowest price”. The Procurement Act 2023 permits it only where the framework sets out the core terms and “an objective mechanism for supplier selection” (section 45(4)). Under award with competition, the buyer designs its own assessment criteria and invites tenders from shortlisted suppliers. It then evaluates the responses against those criteria; section 45(3) makes that the default. The tender notice records the award method as “either with or without competition”. The procedure buyers follow is in Framework Schedule 7, the Call-Off Award Procedure, part of the G-Cloud 15 framework agreement.
What is Economic and Financial Standing on G-Cloud 15?
Economic and Financial Standing, usually shortened to EFS, is how GCA reviews a supplier’s financial health. It checks the supplier can deliver contracts. GCA’s supplier guide says G-Cloud 15 “tests a Supplier’s economic and financial standing as part of the framework application process”. The guide adds that the test does not stop at the application. It runs “throughout the life of G-Cloud 15” under Joint Schedule 7, and it covers the supplier, its immediate parent and any guarantor. It typically involves annual accounts, turnover and credit risk scoring. G-Cloud 15 sets EFS per lot rather than applying one blanket requirement. Lots 1a and 1b require the Gold standard Financial Viability Risk Assessment. Lots 2a, 2b and 3, by contrast, use a Bronze assessment with a sift. Alongside EFS, every G-Cloud 15 lot requires a Technical Ability Certificate. Bidders provide it to demonstrate their technical capability.
Where can I get help with G-Cloud 15?
At Advice Cloud, we have worked with G-Cloud since the framework’s early years. We have also helped 600+ organisations secure over £2.1 billion in public sector contracts. Do you hold a G-Cloud 15 place and want your listings working harder before buyers arrive? Or did you miss the window and want to be ready for the reopening? In both cases, our framework listing services cover lot strategy, compliance answers, listing copy and document review. When a buyer runs an award with competition, our bid services team supports the response. That support runs from review through to full bid management.
Sources, checked 22 September 2026: GCA, G-Cloud 15 agreement page (RM1557.15) and its go-live update; GCA, G-Cloud 14 agreement page; GCA, RM1557.15 G-Cloud 15 supplier guide v1.2; GCA, RM1557.15 comparison of terms for G-Cloud 14 and G-Cloud 15 (v2); GCA, G-Cloud 15 supplier information session (October 2025); GOV.UK, G-Cloud relaunches with biggest upgrade in its history (10 August 2026); Find a Tender, G-Cloud 15 tender notice 2025/S 000-067801 and contract award notice 2026/S 000-070505; Advice Cloud G-Cloud spend data tool.
