Since the UK came out of the European Union advertising contract opportunities on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) is no longer mandatory. Instead we now have two UK based portals for public sector contracts.
The first is Contract Finder. This portal is for all contracts above the lower threshold for formal procurement, this being £10k for central government contracts and £25k for sub-central authorities (these include local authorities and registered social landlords). Since January 2022 these figures are to be calculated inclusive of VAT.
However, it is important to note that contracts advertised on Find a Tender must also be published on Contract Finder
The second portal is Find a Tender. This applies to higher value contracts, as described below. However, it is important to note that contracts advertised on Find a Tender must also be published on Contract Finder and must be advertised on Find a Tender first, with any national advertising on Contract Finder taking place within 24 hours of the Find a Tender registration (PCR2015 R106(1)). In reality the contracts are advertised on Find a Tender far more quickly than was the case with OJEU and tenders can effectively be submitted for publication on both portals simultaneously.
The higher thresholds for publication of contracts on Find a Tender were, in January 2022:
Public works £5,336,937
Public supply and services £213,477
Again, these figures are inclusive of VAT from January 2022.
The higher thresholds are reviewed every two years, and so they will next be reviewed in January 2024 (usually announced the previous month, ie December).
The valuations are the maximum attainable value of the contract (PCR2015 R6 (1), (2) and (3)), and therefore includes the whole potential value (not the annual value) for the contract, including any potential contract extension periods, any materials, maintenance or other incidental costs associated with the contract.
The information provided in this post is for general interest and should not be relied upon as a statement of current legislation