About Manchester City Council procurement
Manchester City Council is the unitary local authority for the city of Manchester and one of the largest English metropolitan councils by annual procurement spend. The council sits inside the Greater Manchester Combined Authority footprint, which also coordinates regional buying through the AGMA Procurement Hub. Manchester runs its own commercial team alongside collaborative purchasing routes with the other nine Greater Manchester councils, so suppliers typically encounter Manchester opportunities through three distinct lanes: direct council notices on Contracts Finder and the council's In-Tend portal, AGMA framework call-offs, and Crown Commercial Service agreements that Manchester draws down for technology and back-office categories.
The council procures across the full sweep of local-authority categories: highways and infrastructure, social care, housing repairs and maintenance, schools and education support services, environmental services, and corporate technology. Programme delivery for Manchester's regeneration agenda generates a steady run of construction professional services and consultancy lots, while the council's digital strategy drives recurring software, hosting, and managed-service procurement. Manchester also acts as the lead authority on several joint commissioning arrangements with NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, which produces occasional cross-sector contract opportunities.
Recent awards by Manchester City Council
Manchester publishes contract award notices through Contracts Finder and Find a Tender, with the council's In-Tend portal carrying the underlying tender documents. Recent award patterns reflect the city's investment programme: highways resurfacing and pothole reactive contracts, fleet replacement for refuse collection and grounds maintenance, framework call-offs for social care home placements, schools catering, and ICT support. Construction professional services awards have featured in support of regeneration projects across the city centre and the wider Manchester local plan. Smaller tactical awards run through dynamic purchasing systems for temporary staff, interpreting services, and minor capital works.
| Recent award category | Typical value range | Common CPV prefix |
|---|---|---|
| Highways and street works | 250k to 8m | 45 |
| Schools catering services | 400k to 5m | 55 |
| Social care placements | 100k to 2m | 85 |
| Corporate ICT support | 80k to 1.5m | 72 |
| Grounds maintenance | 200k to 6m | 77 |
Frameworks used by Manchester City Council
Manchester draws extensively on Crown Commercial Service agreements for shared corporate categories and on AGMA frameworks for collaborative Greater Manchester procurement. Active framework membership typically includes CCS G-Cloud (for SaaS and hosted services), CCS Technology Products and Associated Services 2 (for hardware refresh), the CCS Public Sector Resourcing route for interim contractor placements, and the AGMA Procurement Hub social care and housing frameworks. The council also call-offs from the LHC housing construction frameworks for repairs and refurbishment programmes and from YPO education frameworks for schools furniture and consumables. Where Manchester runs its own competitive procurement, the council usually publishes a single-supplier or multi-lot framework agreement with a four-year term and option periods, structured to allow direct call-off without further competition where lot one is established as preferred.
Common CPVs procured by Manchester City Council
The CPV mix on Manchester award notices is led by 45 (construction works) and 71 (architectural and engineering services), reflecting the volume of repairs, highways, and regeneration work. CPV 85 (health and social work services) is the next-largest category, driven by adult and children's social care commissioning. CPV 72 (IT services) and 48 (software packages) carry the corporate digital spend, while 90 (waste services) and 77 (grounds and parks services) cover the bulk environmental categories. Education and training services under CPV 80 are mostly delivered through schools-level procurement but appear at council level for commissioned skills programmes.
Frequently asked questions
How does Manchester City Council publish tenders?
Manchester publishes contract notices on Contracts Finder for opportunities above the threshold and on Find a Tender for higher-value tenders subject to the Public Contracts Regulations. The underlying tender documents and bid submission flow run through the council's In-Tend portal, where suppliers register a free account, express interest in opportunities, and submit tender responses. Suppliers should subscribe to Contracts Finder alerts and set up keyword alerts in KimonBids matched to the council's procurement categories rather than monitoring the In-Tend portal directly.
How do I become an approved supplier to Manchester City Council?
Manchester does not operate a single approved-supplier list across all categories. Suppliers instead respond to individual tender competitions or apply to join the relevant Crown Commercial Service or AGMA framework agreements that Manchester calls off from. For dynamic purchasing system categories such as social care placements or temporary staffing, suppliers apply directly to join the DPS and remain eligible to bid for any subsequent call-off. Smaller suppliers under threshold can register interest through the In-Tend portal for low-value direct award opportunities.
What documents does Manchester typically request in a tender?
Manchester tender packs commonly include a Selection Questionnaire mirroring the standard PAS-91 or Cabinet Office PPN selection criteria, a method statement covering quality and delivery, a pricing schedule, a social value response aligned with the council's social value framework, and references from comparable contracts. Construction tenders add CDM-related documentation and a programme of works. Technology tenders typically request Cyber Essentials Plus certification, evidence of ISO 27001 or equivalent information security accreditation, and a data processing impact assessment for any contract involving personal data.
Does Manchester City Council favour local suppliers?
Manchester applies its social value framework to in-scope tenders, which can include local economic outcomes such as Manchester-based employment, supply chain spend within Greater Manchester, and apprenticeship creation. Local SMEs are not given direct scoring weight outside the social value criteria, but the council does run targeted SME engagement events through the AGMA Procurement Hub and the Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub. Reviewing the council's social value priorities before bidding helps SMEs frame their delivery proposition against the criteria Manchester actually scores.
| Title | CPV category | Value | Award date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heaton Park Boating Lake and Activities | Recreational-area services | 2026-06-16 | |
| NORTH WEST CONSTRUCTION HUB - HIGH VALUE CONSTRUCTION FRAMEWORK (2027 TO 2031) TC621 / P1007 | Site preparation work | £1,000,000,000 | 2026-06-15 |
| Safe Accommodation Provision for Victims and Survivors within the LGBTQ+ Community | Social work services with accommodation | £449,280 | 2026-06-16 |
| Health Visitor Service | services | ||
| The Northern - Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health Service | services | ||
| Data as of 01 Jun 2026 | |||
Frequently asked questions
How does Manchester City Council publish tenders?
Manchester publishes contract notices on Contracts Finder for opportunities above the threshold and on Find a Tender for higher-value tenders subject to the Public Contracts Regulations. The underlying tender documents and bid submission flow run through the council's In-Tend portal, where suppliers register a free account, express interest in opportunities, and submit tender responses. Suppliers should subscribe to Contracts Finder alerts and set up keyword alerts in KimonBids matched to the council's procurement categories rather than monitoring the In-Tend portal directly.
How do I become an approved supplier to Manchester City Council?
Manchester does not operate a single approved-supplier list across all categories. Suppliers instead respond to individual tender competitions or apply to join the relevant Crown Commercial Service or AGMA framework agreements that Manchester calls off from. For dynamic purchasing system categories such as social care placements or temporary staffing, suppliers apply directly to join the DPS and remain eligible to bid for any subsequent call-off. Smaller suppliers under threshold can register interest through the In-Tend portal for low-value direct award opportunities.
What documents does Manchester typically request in a tender?
Manchester tender packs commonly include a Selection Questionnaire mirroring the standard PAS-91 or Cabinet Office PPN selection criteria, a method statement covering quality and delivery, a pricing schedule, a social value response aligned with the council's social value framework, and references from comparable contracts. Construction tenders add CDM-related documentation and a programme of works. Technology tenders typically request Cyber Essentials Plus certification, evidence of ISO 27001 or equivalent information security accreditation, and a data processing impact assessment for any contract involving personal data.
Does Manchester City Council favour local suppliers?
Manchester applies its social value framework to in-scope tenders, which can include local economic outcomes such as Manchester-based employment, supply chain spend within Greater Manchester, and apprenticeship creation. Local SMEs are not given direct scoring weight outside the social value criteria, but the council does run targeted SME engagement events through the AGMA Procurement Hub and the Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub. Reviewing the council's social value priorities before bidding helps SMEs frame their delivery proposition against the criteria Manchester actually scores.