UK Public Sector Procurement Glossary

A bid priced so far below expectations that the buyer must ask the bidder to explain how it can deliver at that price before accepting, or rejecting, it, to protect against undeliverable contracts.

The professional body for bid and proposal management, whose Foundation, Practitioner and Professional qualifications are widely recognised as a mark of bid-writing competence in the UK public sector bidding industry.

A voluntary pledge by employers to support the armed forces community, including veterans, reservists and service families. Signatories can reference this in social value responses.

A Procurement Act 2023 requirement for buyers to give each bidder a summary of how their tender was scored against the award criteria, going further than the debrief information typically given under PCR 2015.

The internal decision a supplier makes on whether to pursue a specific tender opportunity, usually based on fit, win probability, resourcing and commercial attractiveness, taken before committing time to writing a bid.

An event held before or during a tender giving all interested suppliers the same information and access, often used for complex service contracts.

A contract clause allowing either party, usually the buyer, to end the contract early, at defined points, without it counting as a breach.

A term used in the G-Cloud and Digital Marketplace world for how easy it is for a buyer to find, understand and choose a supplier’s listing; essentially, how well an entry is written and structured to convert a search into a shortlisted supplier.

The individual contract a buyer places with a supplier under a framework agreement, “calling off” the pre-agreed terms rather than negotiating from scratch.

The pre-tender activity of building relationships, intelligence and positioning with a buyer ahead of a competition being launched, so the bid itself starts from a position of strength.

The single supplier registration and notice-publication service introduced with the Procurement Act 2023. Suppliers register once and reuse the same core data across bids, and all contract notices, including below threshold, are published through it.

Ministerial departments together with their executive agencies and arm’s-length bodies. The distinction from the wider public sector matters commercially: some frameworks, spend controls and Cabinet Office policies bite on central government first, and reach other public bodies only where those bodies choose to adopt them.

The formal process for agreeing and documenting any change to scope, price or terms once a contract is live, protecting both parties from informal scope creep.

A question a bidder submits during a live tender to clarify the requirement or process. Answers are usually shared with all bidders to keep the competition fair.

A product bought largely as it comes, adapted through configuration rather than bespoke development. Buyers increasingly ask suppliers to be explicit about how much of a proposed solution is COTS and how much is custom build, because the split drives cost, delivery risk and long-term lock-in.

A standardised classification code used across UK procurement notices to describe the subject matter of a contract, making it easier for suppliers to search for relevant opportunities.

A new, more adaptable procedure introduced by the Procurement Act 2023, letting buyers design a process, including stages, negotiation or dialogue, that suits the specific requirement, rather than following one of a small number of fixed procedures as under PCR 2015.

A working document mapping every requirement in the tender documents to where, and how, the bid response addresses it, used to make sure nothing is missed.

Historic regulations covering concession contracts, where a supplier is paid through the right to exploit a service (for example, a toll road), now folded into the Procurement Act 2023 regime.

The Procurement Act 2023 term for the minimum requirements a supplier must meet to take part in a competition, such as financial standing, technical ability or professional accreditations, which must be proportionate and relevant to the contract.

Where two or more suppliers bid together as a group, typically formalised through a teaming agreement setting out how they will work together if they win, and who holds the prime contractual relationship with the buyer.

A CCS/GCA framework, sometimes referred to as “Consultancy One”, for buying consultancy and related professional services across central government and the wider public sector.

The notice published confirming who has won a contract and its value, giving transparency over public spending.

The long-standing service for publishing lower-value, below-threshold contract opportunities from the UK public sector. Its functions are being consolidated into the Central Digital Platform and enhanced Find a Tender Service.

CCS was the government’s central buying organisation, running cross-government frameworks and the Digital Marketplace. On 1 April 2026 it was brought together with other government commercial teams into the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), an enhanced executive agency that now runs these frameworks; older CCS links and documents increasingly redirect to gca.gov.uk.

The National Cyber Security Centre’s framework for assessing the cyber resilience of organisations responsible for essential services and critical functions. It is outcome-based rather than a pass or fail certificate, and appears in specifications for higher-risk public sector systems where Cyber Essentials on its own is not considered sufficient assurance.

A UK government-backed certification scheme verifying that an organisation has basic technical controls in place to protect against common cyber attacks. It is increasingly a mandatory condition of bidding for public sector technology contracts, including G-Cloud.

A more rigorous version of Cyber Essentials that includes independent technical testing, rather than self-assessment, of an organisation’s security controls, sometimes required for contracts involving more sensitive data.

NHS clinical risk management standards. DCB0129 applies to manufacturers of health IT systems, DCB0160 to the healthcare organisations deploying them, together requiring a documented clinical safety case for software used in care settings.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, a public list of suppliers barred from bidding (mandatory or discretionary exclusion), and the specific grounds, such as fraud, poor past performance or insolvency, a buyer must or may apply when assessing a bidder.

Feedback a buyer provides to unsuccessful, and sometimes successful, bidders explaining the outcome and scoring rationale. A valuable source of insight for improving future bids.

Separate rules for defence and security procurement, which continue to operate alongside the Procurement Act 2023 rather than being replaced by it.

The online marketplace, run by GCA (formerly CCS), through which public sector buyers search and buy cloud services via G-Cloud and digital, data and technology people and outcomes via DOS.

A framework for buying digital outcomes, a defined deliverable such as building a service, and digital specialists, individually skilled people such as a delivery manager or developer. The current iteration is DOS7 (RM1043.9), succeeding DOS6.

Awarding a call-off contract from a framework to a single supplier without a mini-competition, where the framework’s rules allow it and the supplier’s terms already meet the buyer’s needs.

A voluntary government scheme recognising employers who commit to improving how they recruit, retain and develop disabled employees, sometimes referenced in social value evaluation.

The Procurement Act 2023’s successor to the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS): an open list of pre-qualified suppliers that new suppliers can join at any time, with individual contracts then competed among members.

The PCR 2015-era mechanism, now superseded for new arrangements by “Dynamic Markets” under the Procurement Act 2023, that allowed suppliers to join an open supplier list at any point and compete for individual contracts as they arose.

The opening section of a bid response, giving the evaluator a concise, compelling overview of the solution and why the bidder is the right choice. Often scored in its own right and read most closely by senior evaluators.

A plan, often required as a contract deliverable, setting out how a supplier will hand over the service to the buyer or a new supplier at the end of the contract, minimising disruption to continuity.

A structured financial check run on a bidder’s accounts, looking at indicators such as solvency, net assets and turnover relative to the value of the contract, to judge whether the organisation could sustain delivery. It is applied at selection stage on many framework applications and larger tenders, and is a common reason an otherwise strong bid does not progress.

The UK’s central notice publication service for above-threshold contracts, now enhanced as part of the Central Digital Platform under the Procurement Act 2023. It replaced the EU’s OJEU/TED system after Brexit.

An overarching agreement with one or more suppliers setting out the terms, such as price, quality standards and service levels, under which individual contracts will be awarded over its life, without needing a full tender each time.

The process of applying to join a framework as a supplier, typically involving a Selection Questionnaire, technical and commercial responses, and, for Digital Marketplace frameworks, a public-facing listing that buyers search directly.

Legislation giving the public a right to request information held by public authorities, including, subject to exemptions, details of tenders, evaluations and contracts. This is why bid responses should clearly flag genuinely commercially sensitive material.

A framework and Digital Marketplace catalogue for buying cloud hosting, cloud software and cloud support services, refreshed periodically as a new “iteration”. G-Cloud 15 is the current iteration as of 2026, and listing on it is one of the most common entry points for technology suppliers into public sector selling.

A set of criteria all public sector digital services are expected to meet, covering user-centred design, accessibility and security among others, commonly referenced in DOS-procured digital projects and assessed at “service assessments”.

A suite of standards, such as GovS 002 Project Delivery and GovS 007 Security, setting out how government activities, including procurement-adjacent disciplines like project and programme delivery, should be run. Occasionally referenced in specifications for larger transformation contracts.

The connectivity arrangement for health and social care organisations in England, which replaced the older N3 network. Suppliers delivering network or hosted services into the NHS are commonly expected to hold, or to work through, an HSCN-compliant connection, and it appears as a stated requirement in health-facing lots on network and technology frameworks.

An exemption covering genuine collaboration between public bodies to deliver a shared public task, rather than a commercial exchange, so it falls outside standard competition requirements.

Similar to an ITT, but used where the buyer expects to negotiate elements of the solution or price with shortlisted bidders before final award; common for complex or novel requirements.

The full pack of documents a buyer issues inviting suppliers to submit a priced, compliant bid against a defined specification.

Tax rules determining whether a contractor engaged through their own company should be taxed as an employee. Public sector buyers are responsible for making this determination for their contractors, which bidders using contingent labour need to plan for.

The international standard for environmental management systems, increasingly requested given the growing weight placed on social value and net zero commitments in evaluation criteria.

The international standard for business continuity management, giving buyers assurance that a supplier can maintain or recover critical services following a disruption.

The international standard for information security management systems, demonstrating a structured approach to identifying, managing and reducing information security risk. Often requested alongside or as an alternative to Cyber Essentials Plus, particularly for contracts handling sensitive or personal data.

The international standard for occupational health and safety management systems, particularly relevant for contracts involving on-site or facilities-based delivery.

The international standard for quality management systems, demonstrating that an organisation has consistent processes for delivering and improving the quality of its products or services. Frequently requested in Selection Questionnaires as evidence of operational maturity.

A measurable target used to monitor a supplier’s performance against the contract once it is live, often linked to service credits or payment.

Previously a more flexible regime for certain health, social, legal and other services under PCR 2015. Its underlying principles have carried through into how these services are treated under the Procurement Act 2023.

Formal accreditation, via the Living Wage Foundation, confirming an employer pays at least the independently calculated real Living Wage, often cited as social value evidence in bids.

A defined slice of a framework or tender, split by service type, geography or value, that suppliers can bid for individually, letting buyers and smaller suppliers engage with just the part of the requirement that is relevant to them.

A percentage of framework sales that a supplier pays the framework operator on revenue won through the agreement, commonly 1% but set framework by framework. It is calculated from the supplier’s MI returns and is normally built into published pricing rather than added to the buyer’s invoice afterwards.

The regular, usually monthly, report a framework supplier must submit setting out the sales it has made through the agreement, including nil returns where there have been none. MI is the basis on which the framework management charge is calculated, and persistent late or missing returns can put a listing at risk.

A supplier’s written response describing how it would deliver a specific requirement, usually scored against defined criteria. Typically the section where bids are won or lost.

A further, shorter competition run among the suppliers on a multi-supplier framework to decide who wins a specific call-off contract, usually based on the framework’s own rules.

Legislation requiring qualifying organisations to publish an annual modern slavery statement. Many tenders ask suppliers to confirm compliance as a condition of bidding.

The Procurement Act 2023 test for deciding which tender wins: the one that best satisfies the buyer’s published award criteria, taking price and quality together. The wording deliberately drops the word “economically” from the old MEAT test to signal that award should not default towards lowest price.

The PCR 2015-era test for awarding a contract on the best balance of price and quality rather than lowest price alone. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it has been replaced by “most advantageous tender” (MAT), though MEAT still appears in frameworks and call-off contracts awarded under the old regime, and in everyday use by buyers and suppliers who have not caught up with the change.

A widely adopted framework, maintained by Social Value Portal on behalf of local government, for measuring and reporting social value, often used by councils as an alternative or complement to the central government Social Value Model.

The GCA framework for buying network and telecoms services, including connectivity, voice and unified communications, and contact centre services. Network Services 3 (NS3) is the current framework; its successor, Network Services 4 (NS4), is expected to go live in April 2027 with a simplified lot structure and, for the first time, dedicated lots supporting the Emergency Services Network transition.

An annual online self-assessment against the National Data Guardian’s data security standards, required of any organisation, including suppliers, handling NHS patient data or accessing NHS IT systems.

Bodies that operate at a distance from ministers but are sponsored, and usually funded, by a government department, including regulators, research councils, inspectorates and advisory bodies. They are contracting authorities in their own right with their own budgets and buying teams, and are routinely overlooked by suppliers who target only the main departments.

The formal transfer of a contract from one legal entity to another, for example following a business sale or restructuring, which requires the buyer’s consent and effectively substitutes a new party into the existing agreement.

Where UK above-threshold contract notices had to be advertised before the UK left the EU, TED being the platform that published them. Find a Tender replaced this route for UK procurements in January 2021, so the term is formally obsolete, but “an OJEU process” survives in conversation as shorthand for a full, formal, above-threshold competition.

A contractual requirement for a supplier to share underlying cost and margin data with the buyer, used on some long-term or cost-reimbursable contracts to support transparency and joint cost management.

An international open data standard for publishing structured information about contracting, from planning through to award and delivery. UK notice data is published in an OCDS-based format, which is what allows market intelligence platforms to track pipelines, awards and spend patterns rather than reading notices one by one.

A single-stage procurement procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 where any supplier can submit a full tender in response to the notice, with no separate selection stage.

A guarantee from a bidder’s parent company that it will step in and meet the bidder’s contractual obligations if the bidding entity cannot, often required where a smaller subsidiary is bidding for a large contract.

A security standard for any organisation that stores, processes or transmits payment card data, relevant to suppliers providing payment-related services to public bodies.

A financial guarantee, usually from a bank or insurer, that compensates the buyer if the supplier fails to perform the contract.

Staged internal review checkpoints during bid production: pink for an early draft sense-check, red for a rigorous, evaluator’s-eye critique, and gold for final sign-off before submission. Used to systematically improve bid quality.

A notice large contracting authorities must publish setting out contracts they expect to advertise over the next 18 months, giving suppliers early visibility of upcoming opportunities.

The Procurement Policy Note that refreshed the Social Value Model in February 2025, updating the themes and measures central government departments use and superseding the earlier PPN 06/20 model.

An internal list of suppliers an organisation prefers to use. Unlike a framework, a PSL usually has no formal, advertised award process behind it and confers no contractual right to be invited to bid, so being on one is not the same as being compliantly procured and should not be treated as a route to market in its own right.

Engagement a buyer carries out with the supplier market before a tender is published, to test the art of the possible, understand pricing and refine requirements. Suppliers should treat this positively; it is an opportunity to help shape the eventual specification.

A pricing placeholder inviting the buyer to ask for a quote rather than publishing a rate. It does not meet the requirements of catalogue-based frameworks such as G-Cloud, where suppliers must publish a complete pricing document that a buyer can compare without contacting them.

The prime holds the contract directly with the buyer and carries overall responsibility for delivery. Sub-contractors deliver defined elements of the work under the prime, often without a direct contractual relationship with the buyer.

The primary legislation governing most public procurement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland has its own separate regime). It came into force on 24 February 2025, replacing the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 with a single, more flexible rulebook.

From a supplier’s perspective, the forward look of upcoming public sector opportunities it is tracking and planning to bid for; distinct from a buyer’s “pipeline notice”, which is the buyer’s published forward-look of its own procurements.

Guidance issued by the Cabinet Office (now largely via the Government Commercial Agency) to contracting authorities on how to apply procurement policy on a specific issue, such as social value, prompt payment or sanctions. PPNs are not law, but they shape how buyers run competitions in practice.

A voluntary code, increasingly a condition of bidding for public contracts, committing signatories to pay their own suppliers promptly, including in the sub-contract supply chain, typically within 30 days.

A separate set of rules, in force since 2024, governing how NHS commissioners and local authorities procure healthcare services. It sits outside the Procurement Act 2023 and gives commissioners more flexibility to award contracts to existing or single providers without a full competitive tender in defined circumstances.

The regulations that governed most public sector procurement before the Procurement Act 2023 took effect. Some contracts and frameworks awarded under PCR 2015 are still running, so it remains relevant when reviewing older agreements.

The legislation requiring public bodies to consider the wider social, economic and environmental benefit of a contract before starting a procurement, not just cost. It is the origin of “social value” as a factor in tender evaluation.

A previously mandated secure network standard for connecting public sector organisations, largely superseded as departments have moved towards internet-first and cloud-based connectivity, though legacy references still appear in some specifications.

Evidence, usually a similar past project or an existing client willing to be contacted, that a bidder uses to demonstrate a track record of successful delivery.

Organisations that run their own frameworks on behalf of groups of public bodies, often local authorities, schools or NHS trusts, alongside the national GCA/CCS frameworks, giving suppliers additional routes to the same buyers.

Commonly used, particularly at lower values or within frameworks, to describe a request for a solution proposal (RFP) or a straightforward price quote against a defined requirement (RFQ).

The unique reference GCA/CCS assigns to each framework agreement, for example RM1043.9 for DOS7 or RM6098 for TePAS 2, used to identify the exact framework and iteration a supplier is bidding for or a buyer is using.

The standard questionnaire used to assess a bidder’s financial standing, technical capability, insurance and legal status before it is invited to tender. It replaced the older Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) in most competitions.

The contractual commitment defining the standard of service a supplier must deliver, such as response times or uptime, and often the remedies if it is missed.

An independent business with fewer than 250 employees, with further turnover and balance sheet criteria. A policy objective of UK public procurement is to make it easier for SMEs to win public contracts, including via lower-value lots and simplified below-threshold rules.

An American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) audit standard, common among cloud and SaaS suppliers, particularly those also selling into the US or via larger enterprise buyers, assessing controls over security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.

The wider social, economic and environmental benefit a contract delivers beyond its core deliverables, such as local jobs, apprenticeships, community investment or carbon reduction. Public buyers are legally required to consider it, and it is now routinely scored in tender evaluations.

The Cabinet Office / GCA framework, introduced via PPN 06/20 and updated by PPN 002 in February 2025, that sets out the themes, outcomes and measures central government buyers should use to assess social value in procurement.

A commercial platform many public buyers, particularly local authorities, use to specify, score and track suppliers’ social value commitments through the tender and contract lifecycle.

A mandatory pause, typically 8 working days, between telling bidders the outcome of a competition and signing the contract, giving unsuccessful bidders a window to challenge the decision.

The document a buyer issues when running a competition under a framework, particularly on DOS, setting out the outcome or role needed, the evaluation criteria and their weightings, and the response deadline. It is what suppliers actually bid against; the framework agreement itself only gets them into the room.

The person holding the deep technical or operational knowledge a bid response depends on, as distinct from the bid writer who shapes and evidences it. Worth flagging the collision: in public procurement “SME” far more often means small and medium-sized enterprise, and both meanings can appear in the same tender pack.

Cross-government guidance and criteria technology projects are expected to follow, such as open standards, cloud first and security by design, often cited in specifications for digital and technology procurements.

A framework for buying hardware, software licences, IT infrastructure and related services, including leasing and “as-a-service” models. The current iteration, TePAS 2, succeeded the original TePAS framework.

The formal notice that launches a competitive procurement, published via the Find a Tender Service and, below threshold, the Central Digital Platform.

The contract value above which the full Procurement Act 2023 regime applies; thresholds are published and updated periodically. Below threshold, a lighter-touch advertising duty applies instead, via the Central Digital Platform.

A pricing model where the buyer pays for days worked at agreed rates rather than a fixed sum for a defined deliverable, common on digital and consultancy frameworks. “Capped” T&M puts a ceiling on the total while still charging by the day, sitting between pure T&M and fixed price in how delivery risk is shared.

The full value of a contract across its whole life, including any extension options, rather than the annual or first-year figure. TCV is what determines which procurement thresholds apply, how much of a framework’s overall ceiling a call-off consumes, and how much management charge is due.

Rules that protect employees’ terms and conditions when a service, and its staff, transfers from an incumbent supplier to a new one following a re-tender.

The data protection framework governing how buyer and supplier organisations handle personal data through a procurement and the resulting contract, frequently tested through data processing agreements and security questionnaires.

Historic regulations covering utilities sectors such as water, energy, transport and postal services, largely superseded by the Procurement Act 2023, which retains a separate utilities-specific regime.

An exemption allowing a public body to award a contract directly to an entity it controls, such as a wholly owned company, without running a competition, provided strict conditions on control and activity are met. Known informally for years as the Teckal exemption, it is now defined in the Procurement Act 2023 as a “vertical arrangement”.

The sector encompassing charities, community groups and social enterprises. Public buyers are encouraged to consider how procurements can be accessible to VCSE organisations, and social value scoring often rewards working with them.

The accessibility standard public sector websites and digital services are legally required to meet under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Suppliers building public-facing digital services are typically required to demonstrate compliance.

Everything outside central government that can still buy through public frameworks: local authorities, the NHS, police and fire services, schools and academy trusts, universities, housing associations and devolved public bodies. It is the larger market by organisation count, and it buys very differently from Whitehall, with smaller contract values, more local relationships and heavier weighting on social value.

The small number of key messages a bid is built around, tailored to what matters most to the specific buyer, and threaded consistently through every response to make the case for why a supplier should win.