Contract advertising

Information on advertising to commence a regulated procurement.

Should we use Find A Tender or OJEU?

All procurements launched (i.e. advertised) after 11pm on 31 December 2020 must use the Find A Service rather than the OJEU for all formal notices related to the procurement (e.g. advert, contract award, modifications).
What information must our advertisement include?

Everything that is in the standard form Find A Tender Service (FTS) notice – all fields are mandatory save where not applicable. If a contracting authority is publishing an FTS notice on a merely voluntary basis (where the 2015 Regulations do not apply) it is common to include a statement in the notice that, while the contracting authority has decided to advertise on a voluntary basis, does not represent a commitment to follow one of the official procurement procedures. However, even where this statement is included, we would recommend that in practice the contracting authority aims to follow one of the official contract award procedures.

Note that Regulation 53 requires the "procurement documents" to be made available electronically from the date of the advertisement, which should include now the internet link where the procurement documents are accessible.
When do I need to place the advert?

This depends on which procedure you are using and when you hope to enter into the contract. Key procurement timescales are set out in our 2015 Regulations timescale tracker, setting out the minimum time periods from advertisement through to ITT stage and award.
Do I need to publish the advert anywhere else other than on the Find A Tender service?

If the contract is over the relevant value threshold, Regulation 106 requires a contracting authority to publish the details set out in that regulation on the Contracts Finder website within 24 hours of the time it becomes entitled to publish at national level. However, Regulation 106 will not apply to a procurement of clinical health services for the purposes of the NHS, nor where the contracting authority is a maintained school or Academy.

Bear in mind too that publicly advertising an under-threshold contract will generally trigger the Regulation 110 requirement to also include information about the contract opportunity on Contracts Finder. (However, if the contract is very low value (under £10k for central government or under £25k for non-central government and NHS Trusts) then Regulation 110 can be disregarded. Further, Regulation 110 will not apply to a procurement of clinical health services for the purposes of the NHS, nor where the contracting authority is a maintained school or Academy).
Contract value in the Find A Tender service notice for a framework agreement

This should be your best estimate of the likely total spend under the framework.
Can I amend a Find A Tender service notice once it is published?

Yes, but where any material changes are made the dates for responding to the notice should be extended to allow the relevant minimum timeframe following the date on which the amendments are submitted to Find A Tender. We understand that, as with the old OJEU process, on official form must be used to notify Find A Tender of any amendments.
Do we have to advertise contracts under the relevant threshold?

The Regulations themselves do not require advertisement of under-threshold contracts. However, publicly advertising an under-threshold contract will generally trigger the Regulation 110 requirement to also include information about the contract opportunity on Contracts Finder. (However, if the contract is very low value (under £12k for central government or under £30k for non-central government and NHS Trusts/NHS FTs) then Regulation 110 can be disregarded. Further, Regulation 110 will not apply where the contracting authority is a maintained school or Academy).
What is a PIN?

A PIN, or Prior Information Notice, is a notice published on FInd A Tender which sets out a contracting authority's purchasing intentions. It does not oblige the contracting authority to proceed with a procurement process, but informs the market that they should expect a procurement to be commenced within the next 12 months. Publishing a PIN is not mandatory unless the contracting authority is seeking to use a PIN to reduce procurement timescales.
What is the point of publishing a Prior Information Notice (PIN)?

Firstly, where a valid PIN has been published at least 35 days and not more than 12 months in advance of a contract notice, the contracting authority may shorten the timescales under the open, restricted and competitive with negotiation procedures. The shortest possible timescale available (without having to justify using an accelerated procedure) can be achieved by having a PIN in place, and ensuring that the Find A Tender notice and contract documents are in electronic form.
Do we need to publish a PIN?

It is no longer a requirement of the legislation that contracting authorities always have to publish PINs where their requirements are expected to exceed the relevant thresholds. PINs only need to be used when a contracting authority wishes to take advantage of the shorter timescales that the timely publication of a detailed PIN will allow. The impact of a PIN on key procurement timescales is set out in our timescale tracker.

Contract advertising

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