30 terms · reviewed 22 September 2026
UK Procurement Glossary
Public procurement runs on vocabulary that nobody explains to a first-time bidder, and the words that cost money are rarely the complicated ones. Each entry here gives the definition, what it means in practice, and the specific mistake it causes.
Where a term is governed by statute, the entry cites the legislation rather than paraphrasing it. Where a figure moves, such as procurement thresholds, the entry says to check the current published figure rather than printing one that will go quietly out of date.
The Procurement Act 2023
Notices and finding work
Below threshold procurement
Public sector buying below the value at which the full statutory regime applies.
Contract award notice
The notice a contracting authority publishes when it has decided who will receive a contract.
Contracts Finder
A UK government service publishing public sector contract opportunities and awards, including a large volume of lower value work that never appears on Find a Tender.
E-tendering portal
The system through which a contracting authority issues tender documents, receives clarification questions and accepts submissions.
Find a Tender service
The UK government service that publishes public procurement notices above threshold, including planned procurement notices, tender notices and contract award notices.
Pre-market engagement
Contact between a contracting authority and the market before a procurement formally starts, to test feasibility, shape the specification and gauge supplier appetite.
Procurement thresholds
The contract values at which the full public procurement regime applies.
Procedures and routes to market
Call-off and mini-competition
A call-off is an individual contract awarded under an existing framework.
Direct award
Awarding a public contract to a supplier without running a competition.
Lotting
Dividing a procurement into separate parts that suppliers can bid for individually.
Open procedure
A single-stage competition in which any supplier may submit a tender and there is no separate shortlisting round.
Restricted procedure
A two-stage competition under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in which suppliers first complete a selection stage, and only those shortlisted are invited to tender.
Qualification and compliance
Consortium bid
A bid submitted by two or more organisations acting together, so that their combined capability, capacity or financial standing meets requirements none of them meets alone.
Economic and financial standing
The test of whether a supplier is financially robust enough for the contract.
Exclusion grounds
Circumstances in which a contracting authority must or may exclude a supplier from a procurement.
Selection Questionnaire
The stage of a procurement that assesses whether a supplier is eligible and capable, as opposed to whether its offer is good.
Self-cleaning
The process by which a supplier that would otherwise be excluded demonstrates it has put matters right, so that an authority can still consider its bid.
Writing and evaluation
Award criteria versus selection criteria
Selection criteria assess the supplier: its standing, capability and compliance.
Bid or no bid
The decision on whether to pursue an opportunity, taken deliberately and against criteria, before any writing starts.
Clarification questions
Questions a bidder submits to the contracting authority during a defined window, asking it to clarify the documents.
Compliance matrix
A working document listing every requirement in a tender, with its weighting, word or character limit, the evidence needed, the owner and the deadline.
Evaluation criteria and weightings
The published breakdown of what an authority will score and how much each part is worth.
Red team review
A review in which people who did not write the bid score it against the published criteria as an evaluator would, before submission.
Contract and delivery
Challenge and remedies
Debrief and feedback
The explanation a contracting authority gives an unsuccessful bidder of how its tender scored and why, usually including the scores of the winning bidder.
Procurement challenge
A legal claim by an aggrieved supplier that a contracting authority breached procurement law.
Standstill period
The pause between a contracting authority telling bidders who won and actually signing the contract.
Covered in more depth elsewhere
These terms have a full page of their own on this site, so the glossary points at it rather than repeating a shorter version.
- PQQ / Pre-qualification questionnaire
The older name for the selection stage.
- Framework agreement
The agreement that call-offs are made under.
- Tender
UK public procurement in plain English.
- Method statement
The quality response format most bids are scored on.
- Executive summary
What it is for, and what it is not for.
- TUPE
Transfer of staff on a change of provider.
- Social value and TOMs
Themes, Outcomes and Measures, and how they are scored.
- Carbon Reduction Plan
PPN requirement on larger contracts.
- Cyber Essentials
The certification buyers ask technology suppliers for.
Where to start
Tender Deadline Close?
What to check first when the deadline is days away
Tender Due This Week?
What is still achievable with days left, and what is not
Invited to Tender?
What it means and what to do in the first 48 hours
What Does a Bid Writer Cost?
Real UK fee ranges and what moves the price
Do I Need a Bid Writer?
An honest test, including when the answer is no
What Is a Tender?
UK public procurement in plain English