Advertising Tenders and Contracts

Council advertising not required.
Due to the high cost of tendering, the Council is not required to advertise for contracts worth less than £10,000.  However it may do so from time to time in the local newspaper and on this website. Generally the Council will contact three suppliers for quotations. These suppliers may be selected as the result of an Internet search, using trade Directories, talking to other Councils about good suppliers they have used, or using the Council's approved lists. In some cases, one or more Hertfordshire Councils may collaborate and go out to tender together.

Alternatively, the Council may also take advantage pre-negotiated contracts via buying groups such as Hertfordshire Business Services and OGC Buying Solutions. In this case the Council need not go out to tender.

Council advertising required.
All contracts over £10,000 are advertised either locally or in relevant trade journals.  They will also be advertised on this website.  If the value of a contract is greater than £154,000 (approximately) for supplies or services, and over £3.8 million (approximately) for works, EU Procurement Directives apply. In this case, the Council will advertise the contract via the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) instead of a trade journal. Tenders advertised in OJEU can be viewed on Tenders Electronic Daily. These tenders will also usually be advertised on this website. Other UK Journals also publish tenders relevant to their particular industry. There are also UK publications available to suppliers that focus solely on public sector tender information e.g. Contrax Weekly or Tenders Direct.