How do local authorities carry out procurement?

Local authorities carry out procurement by following a structured, regulated process designed to ensure public money is spent fairly, transparently, and in a way that delivers genuine value. In the UK, council procurement is governed by a combination of legislation, statutory guidance, and internal policy frameworks that apply to all public spending above defined thresholds. This article walks through the key rules, stages, routes, and practical considerations that shape how local government tendering works in practice.

What rules govern local authority procurement in the UK?

Local authority procurement in the UK is governed primarily by the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force in February 2025 and replaced the previous Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This legislation sets out the legal obligations councils must follow when spending public funds, including transparency requirements, supplier treatment standards, and mandatory procedures for contracts above certain financial thresholds.

The Procurement Act 2023 introduced several significant changes to how public sector bodies, including local authorities, must conduct their procurement activities. Key principles now embedded in law include the duty to publish contract notices and award decisions, the requirement to consider value for money in its broadest sense (not just lowest price), and stronger obligations around supplier feedback and debrief processes.

Alongside national legislation, local authorities are also bound by their own internal procurement policies and standing orders, which set out how decisions must be approved, what delegated authority thresholds apply, and how conflicts of interest must be managed. These internal rules often go further than the statutory minimum, reflecting each council’s specific governance requirements and risk appetite.

For contracts with an international dimension, World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) rules may also apply, particularly for higher-value contracts. Councils must also adhere to the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination, proportionality, and mutual recognition throughout any procurement exercise.

What are the main stages of a local authority procurement process?

The local authority procurement process typically follows a defined sequence of stages: needs identification, market engagement, tender preparation, supplier evaluation, contract award, and contract management. Each stage has specific requirements under procurement law, and skipping or shortcutting any of them can expose a council to legal challenge or audit risk.

Pre-procurement planning and market engagement

Before a formal tender begins, councils are expected to define what they need, establish a budget, and assess the market. Preliminary market engagement (speaking with potential suppliers to understand what is available and at what cost) is actively encouraged under the Procurement Act 2023, provided it is managed carefully to avoid giving any supplier an unfair advantage. This stage also involves deciding which procurement route to use and whether the requirement falls above or below the relevant financial threshold.

Tender preparation and publication

Once the approach is confirmed, the council prepares its tender documents. These typically include a specification of requirements, evaluation criteria, pricing schedules, and draft contract terms. For contracts above threshold, a notice must be published on the Find a Tender Service (FTS), the UK’s official procurement platform. Suppliers are then given a defined period to respond, with timescales set by legislation depending on the procedure used.

Evaluation, award, and contract management

Submitted bids are evaluated against the pre-published criteria, a contract is awarded, and all unsuccessful suppliers must be notified and offered a debrief. A mandatory standstill period follows before the contract can be signed, giving unsuccessful bidders an opportunity to challenge the decision if they believe the process was flawed. Once the contract is live, ongoing management, including performance monitoring and supplier relationship oversight, becomes the responsibility of the commissioning team.

Which procurement routes do local authorities use?

Local authorities use several different procurement routes depending on the value, complexity, and nature of what they are buying. The most common routes are open procedure, competitive flexible procedure, framework agreements, dynamic markets, and direct award in limited circumstances.

• Open procedure: Any supplier can submit a full tender response. This is the most transparent route and is commonly used for straightforward requirements where the market is well understood.
• Competitive flexible procedure: Introduced by the Procurement Act 2023, this replaces the previous restricted and competitive dialogue procedures and gives councils more flexibility to design a process that fits the complexity of the requirement, including staged evaluation and dialogue with bidders.
• Framework agreements: Pre-established agreements with a panel of approved suppliers, from which councils can call off contracts directly or run mini-competitions. Frameworks reduce the time and cost of procurement for repeat or routine purchases.
• Dynamic markets: A more flexible successor to the previous dynamic purchasing system, allowing new suppliers to join at any time, making them particularly useful for categories with a diverse or evolving supply base.
• Direct award: Permitted only in very limited circumstances, such as genuine single-source situations or extreme urgency. Direct awards must be clearly justified and documented to withstand scrutiny.

The choice of route is not simply a procedural preference. It has a direct impact on how long the process takes, how many suppliers can participate, and how defensible the outcome is if challenged. Councils typically select the route during the planning stage and document their rationale as part of the procurement record.

How do local authorities evaluate and score bids?

Local authorities evaluate bids using pre-published criteria that must be disclosed to all suppliers before the tender closes. Evaluation is typically split between quality and price, with the weighting between the two determined by the nature of the requirement. A council cannot change its evaluation criteria or weightings after the tender has been issued.

Quality criteria commonly assess factors such as the supplier’s proposed methodology, relevant experience, team capability, social value commitments, and approach to risk management. Each criterion is scored against a defined scoring scale, often using a five-point or percentage-based system, with evaluators required to provide written justification for every score awarded.

Price is evaluated either by scoring submissions against each other (where the lowest price receives the maximum score) or by assessing value for money relative to quality. Many councils now use a most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) or best value approach, which means the lowest price does not automatically win if a higher-scoring quality submission justifies the additional cost.

Social value has become an increasingly important part of the evaluation mix. Under the Social Value Act and subsequent government guidance, councils are expected to consider how contracts can generate wider community benefits, such as local employment, environmental sustainability, and support for SMEs, and to score these commitments as part of the formal evaluation.

What are the most common challenges in local authority procurement?

Local authority procurement faces a consistent set of challenges that can slow down processes, reduce competition, and limit the value councils achieve from their contracts. Understanding these challenges is important for both council teams and suppliers looking to engage with the public sector.

• Capacity and resource constraints: Many council procurement teams are under-resourced relative to the volume and complexity of work they manage. This can lead to delays, reduced market engagement, and over-reliance on existing suppliers.
• Risk aversion: Public accountability pressures can make councils cautious about trying new approaches or working with smaller, less established suppliers, even when these might offer better value.
• Specification quality: Poorly written specifications lead to mismatched bids, evaluation difficulties, and contracts that do not deliver what was intended. Getting the specification right at the outset is one of the most important and most frequently underinvested stages of the process.
• Regulatory complexity: Keeping up with changes in procurement law, including the transition to the Procurement Act 2023, requires ongoing training and legal awareness that not all teams have easy access to.
• Supplier market limitations: For specialist categories, the pool of capable suppliers may be small, which limits competition and can make it difficult to achieve best value through a standard competitive process.

How can suppliers successfully bid for local authority contracts?

Suppliers can improve their chances of winning local authority contracts by understanding the procurement process, engaging early, and tailoring their bids carefully to the published evaluation criteria. The most common reason bids fail is not lack of capability but poor alignment between what the supplier has written and what the council has asked for.

The first step is to monitor procurement portals regularly. The Find a Tender Service publishes all above-threshold opportunities, and many councils also use local or regional portals for lower-value contracts. Setting up alerts for relevant categories ensures suppliers do not miss opportunities.

Where a council holds a pre-market engagement event or publishes a prior information notice, suppliers should participate. This is an opportunity to understand the requirement in depth, ask questions, and demonstrate capability before the formal tender opens. It also helps suppliers assess whether an opportunity is genuinely worth pursuing.

When preparing a bid, suppliers should read every section of the tender documents carefully and answer every question with specific, evidence-based responses. Generic answers that could apply to any client rarely score well. Councils are looking for suppliers who understand their context, their constraints, and their priorities.

Social value is increasingly a differentiator. Suppliers who can articulate clear, measurable commitments to local employment, skills development, environmental impact, or community benefit, and who can demonstrate they have delivered on similar commitments before, will score more strongly in evaluations that include a social value criterion.

Finally, suppliers should always request a debrief after an unsuccessful bid. Councils are required to provide feedback, and understanding where a submission fell short is one of the most effective ways to improve future performance.

How eXceeding helps with local authority procurement

eXceeding works with local authorities and suppliers across the UK to navigate the full range of challenges that public sector procurement presents. Whether you are a council looking to run a compliant, well-structured tender or an organisation seeking to improve your success rate in competitive bids, eXceeding’s independent procurement consultants bring the expertise and practical experience to support you.

• Designing and running compliant tender processes aligned with the Procurement Act 2023
• Developing clear, well-structured specifications that attract strong supplier responses
• Supporting evaluation panel training and scoring consistency
• Providing procurement resourcing to fill capacity gaps within council teams
• Advising suppliers on bid strategy, quality responses, and social value commitments
• Delivering cost optimisation reviews to ensure existing contracts represent genuine value

eXceeding is independent, not tied to any supplier, system, or framework, which means every recommendation is made in your organisation’s best interest. If you want expert support with running tenders or improving your procurement outcomes, get in touch with the eXceeding team today.

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