Contracts, Procurement and Tenders
Where we advertise opportunities
If you're interested in doing business with us, you are required to register with Delta, our eSourcing portal. You can do so by accessing the Kent Business Portal. Any bid for a tender or quotation opportunity must be submitted through the portal.
Tenders and quotations over £25,000 are advertised on the site. It's free to register and you will get email notifications of any new opportunities.
As a Delta supplier you are joining the free Select community offering you a pan government marketing tool to promote your company to over 2700 public sector buyers who actively use the Select online supplier information database to research the marketplace for suppliers who can meet their delivery requirements.
Subject to financial thresholds, advertisements are also placed on the Find a Tender website. Any advert placed on the Find a Tender website will instruct suppliers to register on the Delta eSourcing Portal, download, and submit tender documents.
For contracts under £25,000 we use existing suppliers or identify relevant companies.
If you are a Supplier
Public Procurement has changed and we are now working under the Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 improves and streamlines the way procurement is done and benefits prospective suppliers of all sizes, particularly small businesses, start-ups and social enterprises.
Key benefits for suppliers include more standardisation and streamlining of procurement processes - but there are also additional benefits in the Act such as requiring better oversight of procurement decisions and strengthening payment terms.
View information and guidance for suppliers - GOV.UK
View The Procurement Act 2023 - a short guide for suppliers
View CDP Factsheet - a guide to the new Central Digital Platform.
Contracts Register
Under the Local Government Transparency code 2015, any commissioned activity, purchase order, framework agreement and any other legally enforceable agreement with a value that exceeds £5,000 must be published. We comply with this code and the contracts register is published on a quarterly basis. You can view the latest Contracts Register below:
October 2025 Contract Register [xlsx] 519KB
Financial thresholds (excluding VAT)
The financial thresholds listed below help guide us to choose the most appropriate procurement route.
|
Estimated contract value |
Type of contract |
Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Under £25,000 | Works, Services, Goods (Supplies) | Obtain at least one written quotation |
| £25,000 to £179,086* | Works, Services, Goods (Supplies) | In line with Contract Standing Orders – Advert/Tender (advertised on Kent Business Portal/Contracts Finder) |
| £179,086* or more | Services, Goods (Supplies) | In line with Contract Standing Orders – Advert/Tender (advertised on Kent Business Portal/Contracts Finder/Find a Tender) |
| £179,086* to £4,477,174* | Works | In line with Contract Standing Orders – Advert/Tender (advertised on Kent Business Portal/Contracts Finder) |
| £4,477,174* or more | Works | In line with Contract Standing Orders – Advert/Tender (advertised on Kent Business Portal/Contracts Finder/Find a Tender) |
* Find a Tender Threshold (FTS)
What we buy
We buy a wide variety of goods and services for use by all departments within the council. Some examples include the following:
|
Goods |
Services |
Works |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing | Accommodation | Building maintenance |
| Computer hardware and software | Banking services | Construction |
| Sport and gym equipment | Catering and hospitality | Repairs |
| Litter bins | Courier and postage | Refurbishment |
| Stationery | Printing | Car parks |
| Play equipment | Marketing and event management | Property new builds |
| Vehicles | HR services | Listed building refurbishments |
| Flora and Fauna | Training and development services | Solar Panels |
Who does the buying?
We have a procurement and contracts team that help us to spend public money better. The team provide procurement and contract advice, support and guide council officers through the process of appointing a supplier.
This includes helping with specifications, advice on how to gain quotes or tenders and monitoring the contract effectively. Every officer of the council must comply with the contract procedure rules whenever they take part in procurement.
Procurement Pipeline
The Procurement Pipeline covers procurement projects that we expect to undertake and can be viewed by Suppliers on the Central Digital Platform via Find a Tender Find high value contracts in the public sector - GOV.UK.
All projects are subject to change, the pipeline is only an indication of potential tendering opportunities that may be published. We cannot guarantee that the opportunity, contract value, and/or timeline will be as stated.
Procurement Strategy
In 2012 the council identified the need to establish a specialist procurement function and procedures within the authority. The aim is to promote effective procurement across the whole organisation, using innovative, sustainable, consistent and modern procurement methods.
View Ashford Borough Council's Procurement Strategy [pdf] 197KB.
Social Value
Social Value allows us to obtain value from our supply chain and partners, to address some of the challenges and opportunities we face in our communities.
As a result we are committed to prioritising the Social Value outcomes tied to each of the themes of social, economic and environmental, to ensure the greatest potential benefits in our Procurement and Contract Management Activities.
We will trial our Social Value policy for 1 year and review how it is working before it is progressed to Cabinet.
Social Value Policy July 2025 [pdf] 169KB.
Contract Procedure Rules
We procure in line with the Procurement Act 2023 and our Contract Procedure Rules which can be found here
View the rules of procedure in our constitution.
Community Right to Challenge
Under the community right to challenge (included within the Localism Act 2011) a broad range of alternative service providers can submit an expression of interest to run a service, with the potential to trigger a council procurement exercise.
We will consider expressions of interest that are submitted and that meet the statutory criteria as set out in the relevant regulations.
For multi-year contracted services of two years or more- The time frame during which Ashford Borough Council will accept the submission of an Expression of Interest will be a one month period ending 18 months before the date of the end of the contract (ignoring any extension to the contract granted under its terms).
For contracted services where the contract term is between 10 months and one day to two years- The time frame during which Ashford Borough Council will accept the submission of an Expression of Interest will be a one month period ending nine months before the date of the end of the contract (ignoring any extension to the contract granted under its terms).
Procurement and contract related enquiries should be sent to procurement@ashford.gov.uk.
