Introduction
Cambridgeshire County Council spends millions each year with suppliers to ensure that our communities and residents get the best possible service from us. We work with businesses ranging from small, local suppliers to large national companies and we want to make it as easy as possible for suppliers to find, bid for and win our contracts.
The Council procures its contracts in compliance with the Procurement Act 2023, or for health-related contracts – the Provider Selection Regime.
This page is designed to give prospective and current suppliers the information needed to get involved in our procurement processes. We are here to support you, so if you have questions, please email procurementandcommercial@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Our procurements valued over £30,000 are advertised on Find a Tender (details below), except when we are using an existing framework.
If you want to find out about our current contracts, please take a look at our Contract Register: Cambridgeshire County Council: Contract Register | Cambridgeshire Insight Open Data.
The Council is pleased to offer a webinar for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on Tuesday 17 June 2025. This is a chance for you to learn more about what the council buys and what processes we use. Please click on the link below to register your interest.
How to bid
There is guidance available to suppliers on how to get involved in one of our procurement processes. In addition, the Council regularly conducts pre-market engagement which is a good opportunity for suppliers to learn more about what is going to be procured.
ProContract
The Council uses an electronic procurement system to publish the majority of its procurement opportunities, please visit https://procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index?p=ea3edb62-3a92-eb11-810c-005056b64545&v=2 to learn more.
You will need to register on ProContract in order to be able to respond to procurements, the registration process is free of charge and straightforward. Supplier guides are available on the system.
The Council’s own Supplier User Guide is available here:
Find a tender
All our advertised procurements can be found on Find a Tender which is the government’s procurement portal used by all public sector organisations. You can find and register on Find a Tender: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search
2025-02-19_ACT_NOW_Suppliers__user_guide__Completing_Supplier_Information_FINAL.pdf
Procurement pipeline
The procurement pipeline is designed to give suppliers an indication of procurements that the Council may run over the next 3 years. Procurements valued over £500,000 are listed on the pipeline and we aim to update it quarterly.
The spreadsheet has 3 tabs, the first giving details about the next 12 months, the second tab about the 12 months after that and the third tab about the final 12 months.
The Council aims to ensure this pipeline is as accurate as possible but can provide no guarantees that the procurements detailed will be published at the time indicated or at all. Equally, procurements not listed here may be published without prior notice.
The Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act went live on 24 February 2025 and is now the primary regulation that governs public sector procurement. Cabinet Office has provided some guidance for suppliers on the Act and the link is provided below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides
There are also some videos that you might find useful:
Suppliers: detailed walkthrough - how an administrator completes and updates supplier information
Suppliers: How to use the Central Digital Platform, the enhanced Find a Tender service
Suppliers: An overview of the Central Digital Platform, the enhanced Find a Tender service
Terms and conditions
The Council aims to use the standard terms and conditions for all procurements valued below £100,000. Where the procurement is valued over £100,000, is complex or is a call off from an existing framework, bespoke terms and conditions will be used.
Social value
The Council is committed to delivering additional value through its procurement activity. Where a procurement is valued over £100,000, there will usually be a social value question asked as part of the evaluation criteria. We are using Match My project to help suppliers deliver social value that matters to our communities.
Climate change
The Council has challenging Net Zero targets to meet, supporting our suppliers to reduce their own carbon footprint and deliver contracts in an environmentally conscious way is a key means for us to deliver Net Zero.
We ask all suppliers who win contracts valued over £100,000 to sign our Climate Charter which contains key commitments that a supplier must deliver alongside their other contractual obligations. A copy of the Charter is available below:
Submitting invoices
We want to be able to pay our suppliers promptly and within agreed payment terms. To help us to do that, please read the guidance below and submit your invoices accordingly.
Other related policies
To help you understand what we may ask of you in more detail, it might be useful for you to access the policies below:
- Advertising and Sponsorship policy
- Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement
Contact us
If you have questions or need further assistance please email procurementandcommercial@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
