Doing business with the council

We aim to support organisations wanting to supply us with goods, services or carry out works on our behalf.

We encourage competition and welcome bids from new and established suppliers, especially local small and medium sized organisations and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

What is procurement?

Procurement is the process of how we acquire goods, works and services, including how we define what we need, award contracts and manage them.

This is different from purchasing, which is the process of ordering, receiving, and paying for goods and services.

To procure goods, services and works effectively, we aim to achieve value for money by balancing the price of goods with features such as quality and sustainability.

Why work with us?

We are:

• fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and professional
• a long-established organisation, with professionally qualified staff
• prompt to pay invoices. Payments can also be accelerated by signing up to our Supplier Incentive Programme (SIP)
• adding social value to our procurement activity, which can enhance your reputation

Procurement rules

There are regulations we must follow when procuring goods, works and services to ensure transparency and value for money.

National rules

The Procurement Act 2023

The Procurement Act 2023 (opens new window) came into effect in February 2025. This legislation directs the way the public sector buys goods and services. 

The Act aims to make it easier for suppliers to do business with the public sector by introducing:

• a central place to register and to store your core business details so that they can be used for multiple bids
• improved transparency and access to information, with all public procurement opportunities in one place
• better visibility of procurement plans, engagement events and tender opportunities, increasing the number of opportunities available to bid on
• simplified bidding processes to make it easier to bid
• a duty on public sector organisations to help overcome the barriers facing small and medium sized businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises
• strengthened provisions for prompt payment throughout the supply chain

You can find more information on the Transforming Public Procurement website (opens new window).  

We also recommend watching the Government's series of 'Knowledge Drops' explaining the new rules (opens new window), with information designed for different types of suppliers.

All our contracts, no matter what their value, are aimed at helping deliver our Thrive agenda, covered by the legal framework and must also take into account to the National Procurement Policy Statement (opens new window).

We must follow detailed procedures set out by the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024 for all activity above the thresholds below:

*known as the light-touch regime, this applies to healthcare, social care, education and cultural contracts, that involve individuals or groups of people who require services from such contracts that can only be delivered from within the UK.

All activity above these thresholds is advertised on the Government's Central Digital Platform (opens new window).

Provider Selection Regime 

The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a new procurement regime for selecting providers of healthcare services in England: the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). ​ 

This came into force on 1 January 2024 and replaced:​ 

• Public Contracts Regulations 2015​ when arranging health care services 
• National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) Regulations 2013. 

All healthcare services procured by the Council are procured under this regime from 1st January 2024. Find out more about the NHS Provider Selection Regime (opens new window). 

Local rules

We have our own Contract Procedure Rules (PDF, 1 MB)(opens new window) which we must comply with. These are part of the Constitution of the council (PDF, 1 MB).

How to find out about opportunities

A list of all our contracts is maintained on NEPO's e-procurement system, Open (opens new window).

All suppliers wishing to do business with us should ensure that they are registered on Open. It's free and easy.

1. Head to their website and complete the online registration form
2. Click the 'Get started' button
3. On the 'Who are you' tab, select 'Supplier'
4. Select your company type
5. Complete the form as directed

Details of current tendering opportunities can be found under Browse Opportunities (opens new window).

Details of all of the Councils existing contracts are available here: Contracts Register - Open (opens new window). 

Select 'Gateshead Council' from the 'Authority' drop down list in the 'Filter' menu.

The Open Hub (opens new window) is packed with resources and information to help you get the most out of Open.

Central Digital Platform

All organisations wishing to tender for council contracts must be registered on the Government's Central Digital Platform.

Council contracts for good and services generally over £214,904 and works contracts over £5,372,609 are advertised on the Government's Central Digital Platform.

View the Government's series of videos to help you use the platform (opens new window) or visit their website with information and guidance for suppliers (opens new window).

Tendering process

We provide information on the background to a project, our objectives and the proposed tender process. We will also outline the timeframe with clear roles and responsibilities. We use a variety of processes, including:

• an open procedure - any interested company can tender for the contract
• a competitive, flexible procedure - this will involve several stages and interested organisations will need to meet conditions to be invited to tender
• a request for quotation - this will involve a minimum of four suppliers, where available, being invited to quote for the opportunity
• call-off from a framework or DPS by further competition - only the suppliers who have been appointed to the framework or DPS will be invited to tender

Tender documents

The tender pack may consist of:

• instructions - providing information on the contract and guidance for completion of the tender document
• a specification - sets out what needs to be achieved to fulfil the contract
• award criteria and assessment process - defines how we will award a contract and how tenders will be assessed if they meet the criteria
• pricing schedule - the document where all prices are entered
• terms and conditions of the contract
• form of tender - your company's agreement to our terms and conditions
• submission details - states the time and date the tender must be returned

Assessment and contract award

We evaluate tenders on how closely they meet our needs, their price and, if appropriate, any social value commitments.

We then notify organisations in writing of the outcome of their submission.

For tenders above the thresholds detailed in our procurement rules, we have a minimum of eight working days between communicating the decision to all tenderers and awarding the contract. This is to allow our decision to be challenged.

Top tips for submitting your tender or quotation

1. Read the instructions and assessment criteria carefully, as these explain what you need to complete and how your responses will be assessed.
2. Only write in the boxes provided and stick to any word or page limits. Don't include parts of your submission in other appendices or attachments.
3. Don't include any photos, graphics, logos, charts, graphs or links in your response.
4. Answer the question. Don't provide information that hasn't been asked for. Be clear and honest. Use plain English and get your point across concisely.
5. Stick to specifics. Use facts, figures and measurable evidence to support your response. If setting targets, make them clear. Don't be general or aspirational.
6. If you don't understand something, ask us a question through OPEN. Every tender has its own private messaging facility which goes directly to the procuring officer. 

Support for local organisations

Gateshead Connect  helps local businesses find and compete for opportunities.

NEPO Supplier Partnership Programme (opens new window) delivers FREE online training sessions designed to support suppliers in bid writing, social value and public sector tendering.

This training is for businesses looking to:

• understand the tendering process
• improve bid writing skills
• learn how to effectively demonstrate social value
• increase their chances of winning public sector contracts

Whether you're new to public sector tendering or looking to refine your skills, this is a fantastic opportunity to grow your business. View NEPO's upcoming sessions (opens new window). 

Be the first to find out about NSPP events by subscribing to their monthly newsletter (opens new window). 

Being a responsible partner

Social value

We recognise the worth of social value and the difference it can make to local people, communities, and businesses. The Social Value Act 2012 also asks us to consider social, environmental and economic factors in our procurement activity. As a result, we work with suppliers to identify what additional value they can bring to a contract with us.

In most of our tenders, part of the evaluation score will be given over to social value commitments.  

This includes for all procurements over £100,000, where we apply a 20% weighting to social value - this is a much higher than the regional and national average. 

To help deliver this, we have adopted a Social Value Toolkit. This outlines the actions organisations can include as part of their submission to demonstrate their social value.

We have also developed Gateshead Exchange.

Through the platform, local voluntary organisations, social enterprises, schools and community groups can submit a request for support. Suppliers can then view this list and tailor their social value offer to meet these needs.

Modern slavery

As a public sector organisation, employer, community leader and procurer, we are committed to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking in everything we do.

This includes working with partners to tackle these activities. We expect any organisation we partner with to have appropriate policies and practices in place to safeguard against modern slavery.

Freedom of Information and Transparency

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides public access to information held by public authorities. Under the Act, any individual, company, organisation, pressure group or journalist can ask for information from us which may not have been available before.

This means that if we hold information about an organisation, it will be accessible.

Exemptions

There are some exemptions to this - 'absolute' and 'qualified' exceptions.

An 'absolute' exemption has no application of the public interest test.

A 'qualified' exemption means we must decide whether the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

The two exemptions most applicable to procurement activity are sections 41 and 43 of the Act.

If you have marked information 'in confidence' or 'confidential' we are very aware of the commercial sensitivity of information it holds on contracts and section 41 of the Act provides an 'absolute' exemption where the disclosure of the information will constitute an actionable breach of confidence.

However, this is a very tightly defined area of law. If we have signed up to a confidentiality clause, or marked documents as confidential, it does not make it a breach of confidence to disclose.

The Act does not allow access to personal information.

Our Corporate Social Responsibility Pledge

We have developed a Corporate Social Responsibility Pledge (PDF, 143 KB)(opens new window) which sets out how our supply chain can help us:

• put people and families at the heart of everything we do
• tackle inequality so people have a fair chance
• support our communities to support themselves and each other
• invest in our economy to provide sustainable opportunities for employment, innovation and growth
• work together and fight for a better future for Gateshead

Our pledge contains statements that will help us make these a reality, and asks suppliers to sign up to these on behalf of their organisation.

Our pledge also asks organisations to indicate where they believe their own supply chains currently are by completing a simple questionnaire.

Complaints

We have different monitoring arrangements depending on the value and nature of each contract. Most complaints can be discussed and resolved through these.

If this is unsuccessful, complaints can be made in writing through our Corporate Complaints Procedure. This procedure details our policy for dealing with complaints and ensures that we act promptly. Copies of the Corporate Complaints Procedure can be obtained by emailing enquiries@gateshead.gov.uk

Procurement Review Unit

The Procurement Review Unit (PRU) (opens new window) will oversee activities following the introduction of the Procurement Act. The PRU will investigate public bodies to ensure compliance with the Act, and suppliers, for possible addition to the debarment list.

The PRU is designed to deliver the following benefits:

• raising standards across public sector procurement through finding and solving systemic and institutional breaches early
• protecting public contracts and money from suppliers who pose risks by:
  • central consideration of 'self-cleaning' evidence provided by suppliers in order to assess whether the circumstances giving rise to an exclusion ground are continuing or likely to occur again
  • greater consistency and efficiency of supplier exclusions across the public sector, informed by a central debarment list and published investigation reports

Organisations who have tendered to us under the Procurement Act 2023 can take action in the High Court if they have suffered, or are at risk of suffering, loss or damage due to a breach of the council's duty under the Act.

Contact us

Corporate Commissioning and Procurement
Corporate Services and Governance
Civic Centre
Regent Street
Gateshead Council
NE8 1HH

0191 433 3000

For general enquiries email: procurement@gateshead.gov.uk

For specific enquiries contact: