Tag: Northern Ireland

Public Sector Round-Up 20.11.20

By on • ( Leave a comment )

UK tender publishing update

1144

800

344

Total UK
Tenders		Low-Value
Tenders		OJEU
Tenders

169

68

342

Frameworks
or DPS 		Prior Information
Notices		OJEU
Award Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 13.11.20 & 19.11.20

If you are interested in finding out what the market looks like for your industry, get in touch and we’ll be happy to provide you with a free overview for your business. Alternatively, start looking for opportunities with our tender search tool on www.tendersdirect.co.uk

In the news this week

£175 million more for cycling and walking as research shows public support
Councils across England have been given access to a further £175 million to create safe space for cycling and walking. This news comes as surveys show 8/10 people support measures to reduce traffic in their neighbourhoods.
This funding is part of the £2 billion announced in May to promote more active travel options.
This funding will be used to create numerous opportunities, of all values, across the country. Visit our dedicated Construction tender category on our site to view current opportunities.

£16 million to introduce digital prescribing in hospitals
16 hospitals across England will receive a share of £16 million to introduce electronic prescribing systems, replacing the need for paper prescriptions. These systems are being used to greatly improve efficiency, and since 2018, 216 NHS trusts have adopted these systems. The long term plan is to eliminate paper prescribing across the entire NHS by 2024 – meaning there will continue to be associated Tech opportunities until then.

Extraordinary notices

Title: United Kingdom-Chester: National Framework Agreement for Provision of Sterile Services and Endoscopy Decontamination Facility
Short description: The framework agreement will allow NHS organisations to procure a Supplier who can design, build and equip a SSD and subsequently maintain the facility and its equipment under a managed service contract. Suppliers may provide finance to the NHS organisation for the design, build and equip of the SSD, as well as ongoing provision of appropriate facilities management.
Published By: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Date Published: 18 November 2020
Deadline: 04 January 2021
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £375,000,000.00
View full notice on Tenders Direct

When Brexit concludes at the end of this year, the government’s new e-tender service ‘Find a Tender’ will replace the OJEU in the UK for above threshold tenders.
Find out what this means for finding and winning public contracts in 2021, in our new post Brexit and Public Procurement.

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-London: Pharmaceutical products
Short description: Supply of a range of supportive medicines including end of life, intensive care unit and antibiotics.
Published By: Department of Health and Social Care
Date Published: 16 November 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £791,968.00
Number of tenders received: 1 (Of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: Fresenius Kabi Ltd
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Title: United Kingdom-Sale: Street-lighting maintenance services
Short description: Reactive maintenance.
Published By: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Date Published: 18 November 2020
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £2,000,000.00
Number of tenders received: 4
Contractors: Acorn Lighting Services Ltd, Jones Lighting Ltd, SSE Contracting Ltd
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Title: United Kingdom-Newport: Postal services
Short description: To print personalised letters containing name, address and a unique reference/serial number for each record/person invited to take apart in the Covid-19 Infection Survey (CIS).
Published By: Office for National Statistics (‘ONS’)
Date Published: 18 November 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £4,500,000.00
Number of tenders received: 1
Contractors: HH Associates Ltd
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Are you winning contracts in the private sector but unsure how to start in the public sector?
Join us for our upcoming free webinar where we will discuss the differences between the two sectors, and how you can start bidding for public contracts.

The topics we will cover are:
◆ How the public sector differs from the private sector
◆ The similarities between tendering in both
◆ How to find public sector opportunities
◆ How to undertake your first public sector tenders

Book your place: Wednesday 25 November 2020, 1.00 to 1.45PM

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.
Visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk to find out more.

Public Sector Round-Up 13.11.20

By on • ( Leave a comment )

UK tender publishing update

1180

881

299

Total UK
Tenders		Low-Value
Tenders		OJEU
Tenders

105

71

333

Frameworks
or DPS 		Prior Information
Notices		OJEU
Award Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 6.11.20 & 12.11.20

353 opportunities were published on Friday 6 November 2020 – the highest number of daily UK and ROI tenders seen in the last 6 months. As of 13 Nov 2020, there are over 4,200 live notices across the UK and ROI – which is a great sign as we approach the end of 2020, and look to secure work for 2021.

If you would like to view these notices, you can gain access with a free demo of Tenders Direct.

In the news this week

Government gives £60 million seal-of-approval for North Devon Link Road
The multi-million-pound upgrade to the A36, which links Devon to the rest of the UK, is set to get underway this month. While the project will cut journey times and boost connectivity within the region, it will also support the local economy by supporting plans for the creation of 6,700 new homes.
Use our tender search filters to see what opportunities are available in the region at www.tendersdirect.co.uk

Communities at risk of flooding urged to apply for a share of £200m resilience programme
Through the government’s new Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme, 25 areas across England will be selected to pilot creative approaches to improve resilience to flooding. With examples of planting trees and restoring peatland included, it is worth following which areas receive a share of this funding – as it could create unexpected business opportunities.

Brent Council to spend £10 million on Northwick Park road
Brent Council intends to spend £10 million on an access road as part of a redevelopment scheme near Northwick Park Hospital. This project will contribute towards plans of providing more affordable homes, improved green spaces and employment opportunities within the area.

Are you winning contracts in the private sector but unsure how to start in the public sector?
Join us for our upcoming free webinar where we will discuss the differences between the two sectors, and how you can start bidding for public contracts.

The topics we will cover are:
◆ How the public sector differs from the private sector
◆ The similarities between tendering in both
◆ How to find public sector opportunities
◆ How to undertake your first public sector tenders

Book your place: Wednesday 25 November 2020, 1.00 to 1.45PM

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-Glasgow: Installation services of line telephony equipment
Short description: Provision of internet and telephony services.
Published By: University of Glasgow
Date Published: 09 November 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £1,149,384.00
Number of tenders received: 3 (Of which were SMEs: 3)
Contractors: PCCW Global Networks (UK) Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Stockton-on-Tees: System and support services
Short description: To provide a managed service for Oracle e-business suite and Capita Duty Management system. 
Published By: Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland
Date Published: 09 November 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £16,975,000.00
Number of tenders received: 6
Contractors: Sopra Steria
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-St Austell: Drilling and exploration work
Short description: Drill and complete a single 4,500m geothermal well in Cornwall UK.
Published By: Eden Geothermal Ltd
Date Published: 11 November 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £7,306,401.00
Number of tenders received: 7 (Of which were SMEs: 4)
Contractors: British Drilling and Freezing Company Limited
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.
Visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk to find out more.

Brexit and Public Procurement

By on • ( 1 Comment )

The Brexit transition period comes to an end this year, and from 1 January 2021 there will be changes to public procurement. 

Key points to be aware of until then: 

  • For any procurement started, and not completed before 31 December 2020, the current procurement regulations will still apply until the contract has been awarded. 
  • From 1 January 2021, the new e-tender service ‘Find a Tender’ will replace the Official Journal of the European Union in the UK for above threshold tenders. 
  • The existing UK government portals – Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI – will remain in operation and will be unchanged.   
  • While there will be no immediate changes to procurement policies, from 1 January 2021 the government will have the power to introduce new or temporary legislation.

How will Brexit affect finding new tenders?

Tenders Direct customers will see no difference. 
 
We will continue to source and publish all notices of any value from across the UK and ROI, as well as notices from the OJEU applicable to UK suppliers.  
 
Proactis manages both the Sell2Wales and Public Contracts Scotland portals, as well as the e-publishing platform myTenders. We, along with a number of other approved e-senders, have been working closely with the government to ensure that all high value notices published through our portals are also published to Find a Tender when the switch happens on 1 January 2021. 

Tenders Direct offers a unique tender alert service – we rely on humans, not algorithms. This means that when the switch goes live, our team will be able source, review and classify all notices on Find a Tender. Other services, which rely on automated systems to source tenders, may not be able to adapt as promptly – as they will have to build systems to source and extract notices from Find a Tender. 
 
Visit our website for more information about our unique service.  

Is there anything I should be aware of?

Procurement policies are likely to remain closely aligned with the rules in place before Brexit. However, when the transition period ends, it may become clear that some regulations no longer apply, or amendments are needed to make them more practical to just the UK. As an example, the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 saw the publication of four Policy Procurement Notes which introduced a range of temporary changes to support the needs of both the government and UK businesses. 

With Brexit concluding while the UK works to recover from COVID-19, new temporary regulations to address this unpredictable combination is something we should be prepared for. 

We will provide updates through this blog if there are any developments which may have an impact on you finding and winning work within the public sector.

Further reading

The UK Government have a page dedicated to Public Procurement After Brexit, which was last updated in April and we expect further information about find a Tender to be published here. 

For details about all of the changes introduced as a result of Brexit, along with a useful readiness questionnaire, please view the UK Transition page on Gov.uk

6 reasons why you should do business with the Public Sector

By on • ( Leave a comment )

On average the UK Government spends £292 billion a year, more than a third of all public spending, on procuring goods, works and services from external suppliers. This money generates over 50,000 new business opportunities a year for many different industries.  

What is the Public Sector? 


The Public Sector is typically made up of not-for-profit organisations owned by central, national and local governments, for the benefit of their citizens. They cover areas such as defence, education, fire services, healthcare, police and refuse collection. 
 
As the public sector relies on public funding to make decisions, they are required to ensure their financial decisions are made respectfully, encourage free and open competition, achieve best value for money, and ultimately benefit the public. 

Reasons to tender for public sector work

  1. All contracts must be open and accessible – meaning no matter what size your business is, if you meet the criteria and can deliver the tender requirements, you have a fair chance of winning the work. This is different to private procurement where the buyer can choose who to inform of their procurement needs, and who to do business with.    
  1. The public sector wants to award work to SMEs – by 2022 the UK Government wants 33% of all public contracts to awarded to SMEs. SMEs make up 99% of all UK businesses and are vital for the economy.  
  1. 30 day payment period – all invoices for contracted work must be processed by public bodies within 30 days of receiving them, ensuring businesses get paid promptly. Lengthy payment periods can be an issue within the private sector, where larger businesses can dictate when they issue payment. 
  1. Transparent Tendering process – nothing is hidden in public procurement, decisions made are transparent, and suppliers will receive feedback if they did not win a contract. Private buyers do not have to make their processes public, and have no obligations to provide feedback to suppliers.  
  1. Most Economically Advantageous Tenders (MEAT) – is the chosen method of proposal assessment, meaning contract awards are not just based on price, and consider the wider aspects of tender submissions. Social Value is a major consideration in contract awards, and with the Procurement Policy Note – Taking Account of Social Value in the Award of Central Government Contracts, five key themes have been highlighted for central government contracts: COVID-19 recovery, tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, equal opportunity, and wellbeing. 
  1. Continuously improving processes – to make bidding for work easier and less time consuming, the public sector continually work to improve their processes. Single Procurement Documents are a great example – where these are used, only the winning bidder needs to provide the required documents, saving you significant time and effort. 

Finding public Sector Work 

The public sector offers a reliable source of new business.   
 
From stationary to infrastructure and everything in between, the public sector needs suppliers like you. All notices must be publicly accessible online no matter the size, for any supplier to view and bid for.   
  
There are thousands of portals through which public bodies can publish their notices and you can spend a significant amount of time and effort trying to locate opportunities relevant to your business. Thankfully, Tenders Direct eliminates your need to search for tenders by collating every UK and ROI notice in one place, and alerting you to those relevant to your business.   
  
Tender Direct guarantees you will never miss a public sector notice.  
  
Request a demo today and discover all the opportunities you could be bidding for.  

Public Sector Round-Up 23.10.20

By on • ( 1 Comment )

In the news this week: £42 million to tackle congestion on the A630, and a £320 million Commonwealth Games transport plan to be developed.
Our top OJEU notices feature two awards in Northern Ireland, both received only 1 tender each, and awarded the work to SMEs. The other award of the week is a contract in Newport for significant sprinkler system installations.
The number of notices published this week was in line with the weekly average seen in 2019, showing that the public sector continues to be a great source of new business opportunities.

UK tender publishing update

962

663

299

Total UK NoticesLow-Value NoticesOJEU Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 16.10.20 & 22.10.20

The weekly average number of notices published in 2019 was 966. When you look at this week’s numbers and consider the current environment, it’s clear the public sector continues to be a reliable source of new business opportunities.
As of 23.10.20, there are over 4199 live notices across all industries on Tender Direct.
If you would like more information about the types of opportunities available for your business, we would be happy to provide you with a free Market Overview.

In the news this week

2022 Commonwealth Games: Games Transport Plan
In preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth games, West Midlands Combined Authority are preparing a Transport Plan which will utilise over £320m of Transforming Cities Fund funding. The plan will address transportation of spectators, athletes and the Games Family, while at the same time ensuring any disruption to transport users is kept to a minimum.

£42 million to tackle congestion on the A630
Roads Minister Baroness Vere has given the go-ahead to a multi-million pound upgrade to the A630, which will cut congestion and boost capacity along the busy route into Sheffield. Work is scheduled to start in the coming weeks and expected to be finished by summer 2022.
To view all live construction opportunities in the UK, visit our tender categories page.


Our bid consultants can review your bids before submission, offer support when you are short of time, or even take a hands-on role and manage a bid from start to finish. For more information about our range consultancy of services, please visit our website.

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-Newtownabbey: Cremators
Short description: The design, supply, installation, testing, commissioning, together with the associated response and preventive maintenance of the cremator, mercury abatement plant and ancillary items for a period of 10 years.
Published By: Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Date Published: 20 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £893,309.00
Number of tenders received: 1 (of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: Facultatieve Technologies Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Londonderry: Traffic monitoring services
Short description: Provision of traffic management services to the Western Health and Social Care Trust.
Published by: Western Health and Social Care Trust
Date Published: 19 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £305,412.90
Number of tenders received: 1 (of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: CAR Park Services Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Newport: Sprinkler systems installation work
Short description: Design and installation of automated fire suppression systems, fire alarms and associated works to general needs housing schemes owned and maintained by Newport City Homes.
Published By: Newport City Homes
Date Published: 21 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £12,471,915.50
Number of tenders received: 3
Contractors: Harmony Fire | Sureserve Fire and Electrical Ltd (formerly Allied Protection) |
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.
Visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk to find out more.

Top Contract Award Notices this week 19/06/2020

By on • ( 1 Comment )

In the last week, over 400 contract award notices were published across the UK.
Below you will find our top three notices from the last 7 days. 

Title: United Kingdom-Belfast: Provision of services to the community
Short description: Due to the outbreak of Corona Virus, an immediate and urgent requirement to provide food products to those most in need was identified. This notice details the arrangements put in place due to the urgency of the requirement.
Published By: Flagship Housing Group
Date Published: 12 June 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £6,800,000.00
Number of tenders received: 3
Contractors: Lynas Foodservice | Henderson Foodservice Ltd | Musgrave Distribution Ltd

Access the full tender notice with your Tenders Direct login details HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Norwich: Repair and maintenance services of firefighting equipment
Short description: Contract for the routine servicing, maintenance and responsive repairs of all fire safety, warden call, door entry and CCTV equipment.
Published By: Flagship Housing Group
Date Published: 18 June 2020
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £589,698.45
Number of tenders received, lot 1: 11
Number of tenders received, lot 2: 9
Number of tenders received, lot 3: 6
Contractors: M English Security Ltd | Malthouse Security Ltd

Access the full tender notice with your Tenders Direct login details HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Treforest: Advertising and marketing services
Short description: A contract for content and distribution services to raise the profile of Wales as a place to visit, work, invest and more over the next 2-4 years.
Published By: Welsh Government
Date Published: 18 June 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £28,000,000.00
Number of tenders received: 8
Contractors: The Orchard Media and Events Group

Access the full tender notice with your Tenders Direct login details HERE

Are your competitors listed above? Would you like to know their public sector success rate, market share and the types of opportunities they’re targeting? 
With our Competitor Tracking Alerts, you can view their past wins with our five year archive of award notices, and receive alerts when any organisation(s) you choose are announced as winners of above threshold public contracts. 
For more information, please contact us on 0800 222 9009 to discuss further.

%d bloggers like this: