UK Procurement Glossary

Procurement Act 2023

Landmark UK legislation replacing EU procurement rules with a flexible, unified framework for public sector purchasing, introducing the single procurement procedure and enhanced transparency.

Public Contracts Regulations 2015

The primary UK legislation governing public procurement, implementing EU directives and setting mandatory rules for how public bodies must conduct competitive tendering processes.

Social Value Act 2012

UK legislation requiring public bodies to consider social, economic and environmental benefits when commissioning services above certain thresholds.

PPN 06/20

Cabinet Office procurement policy note issued in June 2020 providing guidance on managing supplier relief applications during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring contract continuity.

PPN 05/21

Cabinet Office procurement policy note issued in May 2021 addressing carbon reduction plans and net zero commitments in public procurement to support the UK's 2050 net zero target.

PPN 09/22

Cabinet Office guidance mandating carbon reduction plans for major suppliers in UK public procurement, requiring net zero commitments and emission reduction strategies.

Modern Slavery Act

UK legislation requiring organisations with annual turnover over £36m to publish statements on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

Light Touch Regime

Simplified procurement rules under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for health, social, education and certain other services, with higher thresholds and reduced procedural requirements.

Concession Contracts Regulations

UK regulations governing public sector concession contracts where operators receive payment primarily through exploitation of works or services, transposing EU Directive 2014/23/EU.

Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations

UK regulations governing procurement of defence and security contracts, implementing EU Defence Directive 2009/81/EC with special procedures for sensitive acquisitions.

Open Procedure

A single-stage procurement procedure where any interested supplier can submit a tender in response to a contract notice, with no pre-qualification phase.

Restricted Procedure

A two-stage procurement procedure where only pre-qualified suppliers invited after initial selection can submit tenders, reducing evaluation workload whilst maintaining competition.

Competitive Procedure with Negotiation

A procurement procedure allowing contracting authorities to negotiate with selected suppliers after initial tender evaluation to improve bids before final award.

Competitive Dialogue

A procurement procedure allowing public bodies to develop solutions through structured dialogue with selected suppliers before requesting final tenders.

Negotiated Procedure

A procurement procedure allowing direct negotiation with selected suppliers without prior publication of a contract notice, used only in specific exceptional circumstances.

Framework Agreement

A general agreement with suppliers that establishes terms and conditions for future purchases, without creating obligations to buy specific quantities or values.

Dynamic Purchasing System

A fully electronic procurement procedure that allows contracting authorities to purchase commonly used goods, works or services through pre-qualified suppliers over an extended period.

Dynamic Market

A flexible procurement procedure where suppliers can join throughout the contract period, allowing buyers to access new providers and innovations without running fresh competitions.

Direct Award

A procurement procedure allowing contracting authorities to award contracts directly to suppliers without competitive tendering, typically used for framework agreements or specific circumstances.

Call-off

A simplified procurement process where public bodies purchase goods or services from pre-established framework agreements or dynamic purchasing systems without running a full tender.

Mini-competition

A procurement procedure under framework agreements where pre-selected suppliers compete for specific call-off contracts through a simplified tendering process.

Innovation Partnership

A procurement procedure allowing public bodies to develop and purchase innovative solutions through negotiated partnerships with suppliers, combining R&D with commercial procurement.

Selection Questionnaire

A standardised document used in procurement to assess suppliers' technical capacity, financial standing, and legal compliance before inviting them to tender.

PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire)

A standardised questionnaire used to assess suppliers' suitability and capacity before inviting them to tender, ensuring only qualified bidders proceed to the full procurement process.

Invitation to Tender

A formal document issued by public sector organisations inviting suppliers to submit competitive bids for a specific contract, containing detailed requirements and evaluation criteria.

Request for Proposal

A formal procurement document inviting suppliers to submit detailed proposals for complex requirements where price alone doesn't determine the winner.

Prior Information Notice

A voluntary notice published by contracting authorities to inform the market about planned procurement opportunities, helping suppliers prepare for upcoming tenders.

Tender Notice

A formal public announcement inviting suppliers to submit bids for a procurement opportunity, published to ensure transparency and competition in line with procurement regulations.

Contract Award Notice

A formal notice published when a contracting authority awards a public contract, providing transparency about the procurement outcome and contract details.

Pipeline Notice

A preliminary notice published by contracting authorities to inform potential suppliers about upcoming procurement opportunities, helping them prepare for future tenders.

Preliminary Market Engagement Notice

A notice published by contracting authorities to inform the market of upcoming procurement opportunities and gather early market intelligence before formal tender processes begin.

Specification

A detailed technical description of the goods, services or works required by a contracting authority, setting out performance standards, functionality and quality requirements.

Method Statement

A detailed document explaining how a contractor will execute specific work, including processes, resources, timescales, and quality measures required to deliver contract requirements.

MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender)

Award criterion that evaluates tenders based on the best price-quality ratio, considering factors beyond cost such as technical merit, environmental impact, and social value.

MAT (Most Advantageous Tender)

The tender that offers the best overall value when evaluated against all published award criteria, not necessarily the lowest price bid.

Evaluation Criteria

The predetermined standards and weightings used to assess and score bids in public procurement, ensuring fair, transparent evaluation against requirements.

Scoring Matrix

A structured evaluation framework used to assess and score supplier bids against predetermined criteria, ensuring transparent and consistent procurement decisions.

Weighting

The numerical value assigned to each evaluation criterion that determines its relative importance in the overall scoring of procurement bids, typically expressed as percentages totalling 100%.

Moderation

The process of reviewing and standardising evaluation scores across different assessors to ensure consistency and fairness in procurement scoring.

Pass/Fail Criteria

Binary evaluation standards in procurement that determine whether a bid meets minimum requirements, with no middle ground between acceptable and unacceptable.

Quality Threshold

The minimum quality score a tender must achieve to be considered for award, typically set as a percentage or absolute score before price evaluation begins.

G-Cloud

A government framework enabling public sector organisations to procure cloud computing services through pre-approved suppliers via the Digital Marketplace.

Digital Outcomes and Specialists

A government framework enabling public sector organisations to procure digital services, specialists, and user research through pre-approved suppliers via the Digital Marketplace.

Crown Commercial Service

The UK government's central procurement organisation that negotiates commercial agreements and frameworks for public sector buyers, established in 2014 as an executive agency of the Cabinet Office.

NHS Shared Business Services

Central procurement and back-office services provider for NHS organisations, offering frameworks, shared services and procurement expertise to drive efficiency and compliance.

HealthTrust Europe

A collaborative procurement organisation providing healthcare frameworks and commercial services to NHS trusts and other public healthcare providers across the UK and Europe.

YPO (Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation)

Regional public-sector purchasing consortium serving Yorkshire and beyond, providing frameworks, contracts and procurement services to schools, councils and other public bodies.

ESPO

Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation - a public sector buying consortium serving councils and public bodies across the East of England with compliant framework agreements.

NEPO

North Eastern Procurement Organisation - a public sector buying consortium serving councils and public bodies across North East England with collaborative procurement frameworks.

CPC (Central Purchasing Consortium)

A collaborative procurement body where multiple public sector organisations combine purchasing power to secure better value contracts through shared frameworks and bulk buying arrangements.

NHS Supply Chain

The NHS's national procurement and supply chain organisation that negotiates framework agreements and manages the purchasing of goods and services for NHS trusts across England.

ProCure22

NHS England's framework for capital construction projects, replacing ProCure21 in 2016 to deliver healthcare infrastructure through pre-selected supply chains with integrated design and construction teams.

ProCure23

NHS framework for procuring healthcare construction works, established to streamline capital projects and ensure value for money across the health service.

UK Procurement Thresholds

Monetary values above which UK public bodies must follow specific procurement procedures, including advertising contracts and applying detailed procurement rules under the Procurement Act 2023.

Works Threshold

The financial threshold above which public works contracts must follow full EU/UK procurement procedures, currently £4,733,252 for most contracting authorities.

Supplies Threshold

The monetary value above which public sector contracts for goods must follow full PCR 2015 procedures. Currently £139,688 for central government and £214,904 for other contracting authorities.

Services Threshold

The minimum contract value above which public bodies must follow full EU-derived procurement procedures for service contracts, currently £177,897.50 excluding VAT.

Light Touch Regime Threshold

The financial threshold above which certain service contracts must follow simplified EU-derived procurement rules under the Light Touch Regime, currently £663,540 for most public bodies.

SME Reserve

A government policy requiring 33% of central government procurement spend to go to small and medium-sized enterprises, either directly or through supply chains.

Below-Threshold Contract

A public contract with a value below the EU-derived thresholds that trigger full procurement regulations, subject to simplified procedures and reduced advertising requirements.

Contracts Finder

Official UK government portal where public sector organisations must publish contract opportunities over £12,000 and awarded contracts, ensuring transparency and open competition.

Find a Tender Service

The UK government's official portal for publishing public sector contract opportunities, replacing the EU's OJEU system post-Brexit under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Public Contracts Scotland

Scotland's official e-procurement portal where public bodies advertise contract opportunities and suppliers register to access tenders above £50,000.

Sell2Wales

Wales' official procurement portal where public sector organisations advertise contract opportunities and suppliers register to bid for Welsh public sector contracts.

eTendersNI

Northern Ireland's official electronic procurement portal for public sector tenders, managed by the Department of Finance, providing centralised access to government contract opportunities.

Jaggaer

Cloud-based procurement software platform used by UK public sector organisations to manage sourcing, contracting, supplier management and spend analysis through integrated digital workflows.

Proactis ProContract

A cloud-based contract management platform used by UK public sector organisations to store, manage and track procurement contracts throughout their lifecycle.

In-Tend

The UK government's central e-tendering platform where public sector organisations publish contract opportunities and suppliers submit bids electronically.

Delta eSourcing

NHS-operated procurement platform providing e-tendering, contract management and supplier registration services to healthcare organisations across England.

Bravo Solution

Former e-procurement platform used by UK public sector organisations for tender management and supplier engagement, now part of Jaggaer following acquisitions.

Social Value

Additional social, economic and environmental benefits that public procurement can deliver beyond the core goods or services being purchased, as required by the Social Value Act 2012.

TOMs Framework

Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) Framework is a standardised measurement system for tracking and reporting social value outcomes in UK public procurement contracts.

NHS Net Zero

NHS commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 for direct emissions and 2045 for indirect emissions, driving sustainable procurement practices across health services.

Carbon Reduction Plan

A mandatory document for large suppliers showing how they will achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, required for contracts above £5 million under PPN 06/21.

DSPT (Data Security and Protection Toolkit)

Annual self-assessment tool mandated by NHS Digital requiring health and social care organisations to demonstrate compliance with data protection and cyber security standards.

Cyber Essentials

Government-backed cybersecurity certification scheme that public sector organisations must achieve to demonstrate basic cyber hygiene and qualify for certain contracts.

Cyber Essentials Plus

Enhanced cybersecurity certification scheme requiring independent verification of an organisation's IT security controls, building upon the basic Cyber Essentials standard.

ISO 9001

International quality management standard requiring organisations to demonstrate consistent delivery of products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

ISO 14001

International standard for environmental management systems, often required in UK public procurement to demonstrate suppliers' commitment to environmental responsibility.

ISO 27001

International standard for information security management systems, requiring organisations to systematically manage sensitive data through risk assessment and controls.

ISO 45001

International standard for occupational health and safety management systems, often required in UK public procurement to ensure contractor workplace safety compliance.

Standstill Period

A mandatory 10-calendar day period following contract award notification during which unsuccessful bidders can challenge the procurement decision before the contract is signed.

Cooling Off Period

Mandatory standstill period between contract award decision and contract signature, allowing unsuccessful bidders to challenge the decision before the contract becomes binding.

Debrief

A formal feedback session offered by a contracting authority to an unsuccessful bidder, explaining why their tender was unsuccessful. Required under UK procurement regulations within set timeframes.

Transparency Notice

A Transparency Notice is a public announcement published on Find a Tender Service when a contracting authority awards a contract without a competitive process, fulfilling the standstill and publication requirements under the Procurement Act 2023.

TUPE

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 protect employees' terms and conditions when a service or business transfers from one employer to another, including public-sector outsourcing and retendering.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A measurable value used to assess whether a supplier is meeting contractual obligations. KPIs are agreed at contract award and tracked throughout the contract term to drive performance and accountability.

SLA (Service Level Agreement)

A contractual document defining the measurable standards a supplier must meet when delivering a service, including performance targets, response times, and remedies for failure.