Bidvanetenders

The Bidvane blog

Practical articles on UK public procurement — regulatory changes, eligibility, bonds and market trends.

How Bidvane helps Start here Stop chasing tenders: how Bidvane puts you months ahead of the notice Somewhere a contract you could win is quietly ending, a buyer is planning its replacement, and a framework is about to reopen. Bidvane sees all of it — reads the documents, tells you where you stand, and watches the market for you. For less than the cost of missing one. · 4 min read Read article ›

More from UK procurement

Getting started How to bid for a UK council contract: a step-by-step guide Councils buy everything from grounds maintenance to IT, and the process is more knowable than it looks. Here is the route from finding the notice to submitting a compliant bid — where councils publish, how to qualify before you write, and where bids get thrown out. · 6 min read Frameworks What is a framework agreement — and is it worth joining? Frameworks decide who gets asked to bid for years at a time. Here is what a framework actually is under the Procurement Act 2023, how call-off contracts are awarded, why a framework's headline value is a ceiling rather than spend, and when joining one is worth the effort. · 5 min read Winning work How to write a social value response that scores Social value carries a minimum 10% weighting in central government procurement, and most responses lose marks the same way. What the Social Value Model asks for, why councils differ from Whitehall, and how to write commitments that score — and that you can still deliver. · 5 min read The Procurement Act The competitive flexible procedure, explained: the Procurement Act's new way to tender The Procurement Act 2023 replaced five rigid tendering procedures with two — the open procedure and the competitive flexible procedure. Here's what the CFP is, how buyers design a bespoke single- or multi-stage process, the rules that keep it fair, and what it means for your bid. · 6 min read The Procurement Act Your delivery record is now public: KPIs and performance notices explained Under the Procurement Act 2023, buyers must publish at least three KPIs for contracts over £5 million and rate performance against them — and poor performance can now count against you in future bids. Here's how the new transparency cuts both ways for suppliers. · 1 min read Frameworks Dynamic markets: the door that never closes on public work The Procurement Act 2023 replaced dynamic purchasing systems with dynamic markets — supplier lists you can join at any time, with no closing date and no cap on numbers. If you've ever missed a framework window, this change is for you. · 2 min read Rules & money The debarment list is real: how suppliers stay on the right side of it The Procurement Act 2023 created a central, published debarment list and wider exclusion grounds — from fraud and competition breaches to persistent poor performance. What the rules actually say, and the housekeeping that keeps your bids safe. · 2 min read Rules & money Paid in 30 days: how the Procurement Act protects cash flow down the supply chain From 24 February 2025 the Procurement Act 2023 implies 30-day payment terms into public contracts and, via section 73, into every public sub-contract — with authorities publishing payment compliance notices. Why it matters most to smaller suppliers. · 1 min read Winning work 30% to SMEs: what the new spend targets mean for small businesses The National Procurement Policy Statement and PPN 001 set SME and VCSE spend targets: central departments must set three-year SME targets from April 2025 and report annually, with an ambition of 30% of spend with SMEs by 2027/28. What it means if you're a small supplier. · 1 min read Getting started Where UK public tenders are published — and the thresholds that decide Find a Tender carries higher-value UK public contracts (it replaced OJEU/TED on 1 January 2021); Contracts Finder carries lower-value ones. Here are the thresholds in force from 1 January 2026 and what they mean for where a contract appears. · 1 min read Getting started Register once, bid many times: the Central Digital Platform and the new Find a Tender From 24 February 2025 the enhanced Find a Tender service and the Central Digital Platform let suppliers register core business details once and reuse them across bids. It's free, searchable and supports alerts — here's how to make it work for you. · 1 min read The Procurement Act The Procurement Act 2023 is live: what changed for suppliers The Procurement Act 2023 went live on 24 February 2025, replacing the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. A single competitive flexible procedure, more transparency across the contract lifecycle and tougher exclusions — here's what it means if you bid for public work. · 2 min read