Tendering Trends for 2026

Producing a high-quality tender involves not only answering the questions presented by the purchasing authority to a high standard – leveraging the respondent’s bid writing skills – but also assessing wider legislative, economic and social changes within the public sector which will impact the volume and quality of opportunities in your bid pipeline.

To remain competitive in a changing public sector market, UK suppliers should be mindful of how wider events in 2025 will shape tendering trends as we enter the new year.

Full-scale implementation of the Procurement Act 2023

This year, 2026, will be the first calendar year of the Procurement Act 2023 since its implementation in February 2025. Repealing and replacing the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the changes introduced by the Procurement Act included:

• Cultural shifts from Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) to Most Advantageous Tender (MAT), further emphasising a more holistic award process centred on best value
• Increased compliance measures for suppliers, including requirements to update the Central Digital Platform data and KPI reporting on performance for contracts above a relevant threshold
• A new supplier debarment list for organisations who are excluded from public sector tendering
• Increased pipeline notices issued by contracting authorities, supporting bidders to firm up their bid pipelines.

Bidder organisations will see the full extent of changes stemming from the Procurement Act this year, and should be mindful of their obligations and requirements to achieve full compliance.

Governing changes to public procurement

In addition to the above, bidder organisations can expect further changes to public procurement throughout 2026 resulting from ongoing processes:

• Public procurement consultation: This summer, the Cabinet Office opened a public procurement consultation to build on existing changes from the Procurement Act 2023 and National Procurement Policy Statement – with topics including supporting small businesses and SMEs and creating good quality local jobs and skills. Results of the consultation are expected imminently, and there are likely to be further changes stemming from the results of the consultation.
• Government Commercial Agency: Equally, the Cabinet Office has announced the creation of a new Government Commercial Agency (GCA) launching April 2026. Whilst confirmed details are currently quite light, broad objectives include simplifying access to specialist support, providing expert advice for complex procurements and supporting organisations from planning stage through to delivery.

We anticipate further information on the GCA and results of the public procurement consultation to be published in due course.

New scope for reserving contracts for local suppliers

In November last year, we noted a pattern in contracting authorities reserving contracts for local suppliers. New ministerial guidance has been published in advance of the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-Commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026 coming into force early this year. The guidance explains:

• How competitions can be reserved for local suppliers, either based within a local authority’s administrative boundaries or the UK
• Rationale for reserving contracts for local suppliers, including giving more opportunities to SMEs if the local economy is heavily dependent on the public sector as a client
• Defining local area and supplier location proportionate to the tendered works or services
• Requirements in tender notices that must be published to advise of reserved elements in place.

In an earlier article, we explored the potential benefits and drawbacks to reserving contracts in this manner. Suppliers should be conscious that this model may be widely adopted by local councils, and modify their bid strategy accordingly – for instance, considering contracts which have yet to be reserved, as these opportunities may be more limited in the future.

Increased use of AI in the tender process

Use and implementation of AI and LLMs to support business functions and introduce efficiencies has swept the world over the past two years.

The central government has indicated its intent to harness increased capabilities introduced by AI, and has begun rolling this out within civil service functions, in addition to significant funding in certain regions, such as securing £30 billion in private investment for a North East AI growth zone.

In accordance with internal policies in creating ‘confident, responsible users’ of AI, central government has not disallowed the use of AI to support production of tender submissions, but has introduced safeguarding against it.

This includes PPN 017, which aims to improve transparency of AI in procurement procedures by asking bidder organisations to check the content it has produced for accuracy, avoiding ‘hallucinations’ which generate irrelevant or incorrect information.

Updates to common social value evaluation models

Social value has been central to public sector bidding for years, stemming from the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. However, the previous year has seen updates to longstanding evaluation models – for instance, PPN 002 creating updated Model Award Criteria (MACs) in October 2025.

Suppliers will need to revisit their existing social value strategy and commitments to ensure they adhere to updated guidance. For instance, the Procurement Act 2023 12 (1) now mandates that contracting authorities must have regard to ‘maximising public benefit’ as part of the procurement process – with accompany guidance confirming this includes environmental and sustainability objectives, among others.

With social value often comprising 10% (or higher) as part of tender submissions, it is critical to ensure a high-quality, compliant and persuasive social value submission to maximise chances of a successful outcome.

This aligns with our own approaches to produce bespoke social value responses which directly address the buyer’s priority areas and requirements – ensuring they are targeted, tangible and maximise impact in the local area.

Supporting you with tender submissions in 2026

As thought leaders within the bid and tender writing industry, Executive Compass will continue to monitor the above topics in addition to other emerging themes across 2026. For now, practical steps for organisations interested in bidding for public sector work include:

• Ensuring you have registered for the Central Digital Platform as a proactive measure
• Monitor tender opportunities and pipeline notices using the government’s Find a Tender website
• Ensuring common certifications and credentials are up to date – for instance, ISO 9001 or Cyber Essentials
• Consider bid writing training if you are confident completing bids internally and could benefit from skills refresh.

To find out how we can support you with a high-quality, competitive bid, our sales and marketing team can discuss further at 0800 612 5563 or via email info@executivecompass.co.uk.