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Procurement

Procurement at BIST

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade's purchasing arrangements and information for those looking to become a supplier or contractor.

Objectives

Our procurement objectives are to:

  • achieve value for money, which includes the best combination of costs, service delivery and quality, as well as added social value where relevant and proportionate
  • reduce and remove barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in procurement
  • make prompt payment of our suppliers and their supply chains

We procure under the Procurement Act 2023 and follow the National Procurement Policy Statement, which sets out the strategic priorities for public procurement.

There is a range of information and resources about the new regime on the transforming public procurement page, including:

Commercial agreements

Many government departments, including the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BSIT), use commercial agreements established by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA). Businesses can join these agreements. Find guidance on how to become a GCA supplier or join one of GCA’s supplier events to engage with them and other buyers directly.

Contract opportunities

Find a Tender is where all contract opportunities over £12,000 (including VAT) are published, as well as details on:

  • contracts that have been let
  • how contracts are being changed

As a potential supplier, we encourage you to register for Find a Tender to view opportunities and tender for government contracts. You will need to register if you are interested in bidding on contracts that are in scope of the Procurement Act 2023.

Details of contracts over £12,000 (including VAT) previously established under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are published on the Contracts Finder.

Find out more about contract opportunities and selling goods or services to the public sector.

Transparency in procurement

Suppliers intending to bid for public sector contracts should be aware of the various transparency requirements, including the obligation to publish details of contracts awarded subject to certain limited exemptions.

BIST’s commercial pipeline provides a forward look of our anticipated outsourcing activity over the next 18 months. All our projects and anticipated procurements valued at £2 million or more are published on Find a Tender.

Supporting SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs)

The public sector spends billions each year buying goods and services from the private sector. Winning a contract to provide products and services to public sector buyers can help suppliers increase revenue, enhance their reputation and grow their organisation.

Further information on bidding for government contracts:

For questions about SME procurement, contact our policy team on smeprocurement@businessandtrade.gov.uk, or visit the:

BIST also helps small businesses showcase their products or services through sponsorship opportunities of our major events. Find out more on the BIST sponsorship page or contact commercialsponsorship@businessandtrade.gov.uk.

eSourcing

BIST uses the Jaggaer eSourcing portal, a secure and compliant method for managing tendering activities and reducing the time and effort for both buyers and suppliers.

Use the eSourcing portal to:

  • register and express an interest in a procurement opportunity
  • participate in tendering activities: downloading, completing and submitting proposals
  • support contract management activities during the contract period

As a potential supplier to BIST you must register to use Jaggaer to:

  • view opportunities to tender
  • submit tender responses

For help with registration, use the support links on the Jaggaer portal.

Terms and conditions

BIST uses standard terms and conditions for most procurement activities. These include the Cabinet Office:

The selection of the contract depends on the procurement route, as well as the value and complexity of the goods or services being acquired.

Alongside the Procurement Act 2023, BIST uses the Modular Security Schedules in our contracts to ensure security requirements are robust and adaptable to different procurement scenarios.

When procuring via a GCA framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system, BIST is required to adhere to the contractual terms stipulated in the respective agreement. A standard version of the public sector contract, which GCA uses as the base for framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems, can be found on the Public Sector Contract collection page. You can review all the details including the contractual terms of current GCA agreements.

Social value in procurement

BIST adheres to the Public Services (Social Value) Act, which requires departments who procure services to consider social, economic and environmental benefits in procurements. This means we use our procurement and contract management activities to encourage positive social value behaviour and deliver additional value that benefits our citizens, communities or the environment.

Since the introduction of procurement policy note (PPN) 002, our approach is to include specific social value criteria by default to all in scope contracts. We do this by using the government’s social value model. We select relevant and proportionate themes and policy outcomes, and measurable metrics to ensure delivery during the life of contract.

Tackling modern slavery

BIST undertakes risk assessments of contracts to ensure the risk of modern slavery in the supply chain is appropriately considered and mitigated against.

Read the government’s 2021 to 2022 modern slavery statement.

Prompt payment

BIST follows the government prompt payment policy to tackle late and unfair payment practices in both public and private sectors. BIST aims to pay 90% of undisputed and valid invoices from SMEs within 5 days. Additionally, 100% of all undisputed and valid invoices should be paid within 30 days.

The Procurement Act mandates that all contracts include a 30-day payment term, which is implied in contracts even if not explicitly written into them and applies to the entire supply chain. This term also extends to any subcontracts that are wholly or substantially meant to contribute to the performance of a public contract. Invoices will have to be paid within 30 days of receipt, not when they are validated.

Learn more about our prompt payment data. We are still using the previous Department for Business and Trade (DBT) prompt payment data.

Where the supplier lets a subcontract in connection with a BIST contract, they must:

  • include similar prompt payment terms in the preceding paragraph in respect of payments to the subcontractor
  • pay the subcontractor invoices within 30 days

Information security

Data protection and information security is of the highest priority at BIST. Information assurance is therefore built into the procurement process, including the use of a third-party assurance process.

Depending on the nature of the procurement and the associated information security risks, suppliers are asked to demonstrate compliance with best practice standards, such as cyber essentials or ISO27001 certification.

As part of the assurance process, suppliers may be asked to complete a self-assessment questionnaire. This enables BIST to understand the suppliers’ security posture and supports contract management. All suppliers and their subcontractors are required to protect BIST’s information in accordance with the government security classifications policy.

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