It is an exciting time it is to work in the UK local government procurement marketplace.
One of the key takeaways from the Local Government Procurement Exhibition (LGPE) 2019 was that the public and private sectors must come together to transform local government procurement.
At the event, there was overwhelmingly positive understanding of the sheer size of the opportunity available in the sector – and an appreciation that buyers and suppliers should collaborate to make a real difference to the lives of people across all our communities.
How much is local government spending?
Local government currently spends over £57bn annually on a vast range of goods and services. It is a huge and diverse market, as local authorities require everything from vast regeneration projects to personal care for individuals. Contract values range from over £1bn to just a few hundred pounds.
Many of the larger opportunities will be granted to larger contractors – but this doesn’t mean that your business can’t win work here. SMEs win government work through another larger contractor via the supply chain – an excellent way for a company to get its foot in the public sector door. A large organisation may win the contract, but that does not mean they will deliver all aspects of it. SMEs can contact the main supplier to find out whether there are sub-contracting opportunities available. This is seen as a valuable way for smaller businesses to establish relationships, win public sector business and build credentials.
However, local government also issues hundreds of lower-value contracts each month, many of which are eminently suitable for micro and smaller businesses. Many of these are local needs – repairs to fences, cleaning to one particular school – which offer an ideal opportunity for local micro and small businesses to win work and start to build a public sector client portfolio.
The local government sector consistently issues large volume of contract notices and wants to see more SMEs benefiting from contracting opportunities. BiP Solutions has commented that:
“The average weekly reported total contract value in this sector is approximately £1.1 billion.”
The report, which was released in June 2020, revealed that local government has been severely challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights that
“local government organisations are tasked with continuing to provide established, essential services; making adaptations where required, as well as considering how they will continue to provide said essential services in a post-pandemic landscape. “
Whether available opportunities are due to recent changes, or part of local government’s long-standing usual requirements, this is a vast and steady market for suppliers of varying sizes and specialisms to tap into.
Start finding council contracts
With Supply2Gov, it is easier than you think to find council contracts. Our users can access local council tenders from across the UK with our tender alerts tool.
We publish local council tenders from throughout the UK and the whole of Ireland and give our customers the choice of the area/country that suits their business.
Or find out more about local council tendering.