Contract opportunities

We advertise our contract opportunities and run tendering processes on the Supplying the South West website.

Selling to us

All our contract opportunities over £10,000 are let through the Supplying the South West online procurement portal. If you register with Supplying the South West you will receive email alerts for relevant advertised contract opportunities you may be interested in applying for. It’s free to register and you’ll have access to full support provided by their helpdesk.

For more information about doing business with us, read our selling to the council guide.

Contract standing orders

Our procurement procedures depend on the estimated value of the contract:

  • up to £4,999 – quotations not required. Direct award permissible
  • £5,000 to £9,999 – invite three quotes
  • £10,000 to £49,999 – invite three quotes
  • £50,000 to £99,999 – invite five quotes
  • £100,000 to £499,999 – open tender. Find a tender if over threshold
  • £500,000 to £999,999 – open tender. Find a tender if over threshold
  • £1,000,000 to £4,999,999 – open tender. Find a tender if over threshold
  • £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 – find a tender
  • £10,000,000 and over – find a tender

Visit our page below to view our contracts register, which shows the type of contracts we have previously let, and their expiry dates.

Contact us for more information about concession opportunities in our seafronts, parks and open spaces locations at concessions@n-somerset.gov.uk.

For any other queries around procurement and contract opportunities, contact procurement.contracts@n-somerset.gov.uk.

Getting notice in advance of upcoming opportunities

Decision notices

Suppliers can get notice in advance of our contract opportunities by checking our decision notices. These notices are published on our website and are prepared for potential contracts with a total value of £100,000 or above. Commissioners have to create a commissioning plan which is approved by the appropriate manager.

Commissioning plans with a value of £500,000 and above are published on our executive member decision pages.

This means suppliers can read these before pursuing any procurement route.

Decision notices include a variety of strategic reports, such as:

  • commissioning plans
  • contract award reports
  • consultations
  • policies 

Suppliers will need to identify which of these reports will be relevant.