2. Council contract opportunities
Where can I view opportunities?
We use an electronic tendering portal called Supplying the South West to advertise our contract opportunities and run our tendering activities.
We also advertise our opportunities on Contracts Finder and the Find a Tender (FTS) service for contracts over the threshold within the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
For anything under £10,000 we have a database where suppliers can register goods, services and works for The Council to refer to. This does not guarantee business with The Council.
Does the Council advertise every opportunity?
Sometimes we have a need for a product or service but we don’t advertise it because there is already a contract or framework agreement that we can use or it is under the threshold for advertising in accordance with our contract procedure rules.
How can I register with the portal?
If you are interested in becoming a supplier to the council we advise you to register on our electronic tendering portal Supplying the South West. This will mean you can view our contract opportunities as well as other councils’ across the UK.
If you create an account with the portal you can apply to take part in the tender process. If you do not create an account you can still search for opportunities.
Where can I view current contracts?
View our online contracts register.
Technical terms explained
- Contracts Finder - lets you search for information about contracts with the government and local government. You can use Contracts Finder to search for contract opportunities. Find out what’s coming up in the future and look up details of previous tenders and contracts
- Framework agreement - an agreement with suppliers to establish terms governing contracts that may be awarded during the life of the agreement. Framework agreements usually cover the provision of a general group of good, works or services such as office furniture; temporary agency staff or construction works.
- Find a Tender Service (FTS) - a regular publication in which all tenders from the public sector that are valued over a certain financial threshold according to legislation, must be published.