If you’re new to TePAS 3, our overview guide covers the basics: scope, timeline and who can apply.
This followed an earlier round of market engagement held in person at TechUK London on 29th April 2026. Together, the two sessions are the clearest picture yet of how GCA is thinking about the next iteration of TePAS.
What suppliers told GCA about TePAS 2
Before looking ahead, GCA spent time reviewing feedback on the current framework. On the supplier side, the framework’s familiarity and breadth were rated as strengths, but SME support and the sector-specific lots came up repeatedly as pain points. The technology catalogue was also described as cumbersome to use.
Customers echoed some of this. They valued the wide supplier coverage and the ease of the route to market, but wanted more done to support SMEs, and asked for sustainability to be built into every lot rather than sitting in a single, separate one. Social value visibility was flagged as another gap.
If you found any of these frustrating under TePAS 2, it’s worth knowing GCA has heard the same thing from multiple directions, and it’s shaping what comes next.
The lot structure is still open
Nothing here is decided, and GCA was clear that this is still under consideration, but the direction of travel is worth understanding.
Lots 1 to 4, covering hardware and software, hardware alone, software alone, and information assured technology, look set to continue broadly as they are. Lots 5 and 6, the sector-specific lots for health and social care, and education, were flagged in feedback as not working well as currently structured. Lot 7, sustainability and circular IT, is being discussed as something that could sit inside every lot rather than standing alone. Lot 8, the technology catalogue, is being considered as a structural element running across the framework rather than a discrete lot in its own right.
None of this is confirmed, but if you currently bid into the sector-specific lots, or you rely on Lot 7 as a distinct route, this is a section of the framework worth watching closely as more detail emerges.
A possible new lot for SMEs
The session spent real time on a proposed new lot, tentatively Lot 5, aimed at below-threshold procurement under the Procurement Act 2023. For context, the below-threshold limits currently sit at £135,018 for central government and £207,720 for the wider public sector.
The idea is a simpler, less onerous route for lower-value spend, designed with SMEs specifically in mind.
The room’s reaction was mixed, and worth reflecting honestly rather than glossing over. Suppliers broadly liked the concept, but many were clear that it would only genuinely help SMEs if manufacturers and OEMs were excluded from it. Without that restriction, several felt larger organisations could still undercut smaller suppliers on price. There was also a related worry that folding the education lot into a general SME structure could dilute the specialist deployment and support expertise that sector-specific suppliers currently offer.
The clearest piece of consensus: suppliers want the ability to bid for Lots 1 to 4 as well as any new SME-focused lot, not be forced to choose one route or the other. Access to larger contracts still matters, even for suppliers who’d benefit from a simpler below-threshold option.
Reporting and performance measures
GCA also talked through where management information (MI) reporting breaks down under TePAS 2, including confusion between order and contract data, and missing project spend where the contracts tab isn’t completed. Some existing annual performance indicators, such as the case study and marketing plan requirements, are being considered for removal, while new measures were floated, including a requirement for suppliers to bid at least once per lot within any rolling six-month period.
This is one to watch if you’ve found TePAS 2’s reporting requirements a burden. It sounds like GCA has heard that too.
What this means for now
On ISO and accreditation requirements, GCA’s current steer is to work from TePAS 2’s existing requirements until anything changes, so there’s no need to hold off on preparation while waiting for a new framework.
Beyond that, nothing here is locked in. GCA has said the lot structure will be discussed further at the next market engagement session, and the SME lot concept is still being tested against exactly the kind of feedback suppliers gave on 17th June.
What’s useful now is treating this as a genuine opportunity to shape the outcome. GCA is asking, and listening. If you have a view on the lot structure, the SME lot proposal, or the reporting changes, this is the window to make it heard before the ITT closes that conversation down in January 2027.
If you’d like to talk through what any of this might mean for your specific position under TePAS 3, or want a heads-up when the next engagement session is announced, you can start the conversation with us now by booking a chat with one of our team.
