Local Business & Voluntary Sector Friendly Council Things That Matter and Possible Improvement Actions
Use this page to explore what matters when a council wants to build stronger, more productive connections with local businesses and voluntary organisations, and to find practical actions that may help. It is a source of insight and improvement options, not a checklist that every council should implement in full.
Start wherever it is most useful. Explore the Things That Matter to understand an issue more fully, or go straight to the possible improvement actions. The links within each item move between the two views and open the relevant content automatically.
Things That Matter
These are council-wide rather than departmental: people in different roles may see different parts of the picture, and that difference in perspective can itself be useful evidence.
1Purpose, willingness and council alignment
Building bridges with local organisationsTTM-01 Creating stronger, more productive connections between the council and the local businesses and voluntary organisations that can contribute to its communities and services.
Detail
Local organisations can contribute to economic regeneration, community wellbeing, service delivery, resilience and wider social and environmental value. The source argues that their participation should not be treated as a procurement extra or a gesture of goodwill. Building better connections means making it easier and more worthwhile for capable local organisations to understand, approach and work with the council.
Comments / reasoning
This is the overarching purpose of the set. It captures the report’s central ‘bridges not barriers’ idea without reducing the issue to procurement. It depends on many of the Things That Matter that follow, particularly understanding small organisations, coherent action, accessibility, relationships and recognition of wider value.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Why this matters to your Council”, pp. 7-11; “Barriers to effective trading and how to dismantle them”, pp. 12-22.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slides 2, 4 and 5.
Supporting sources Local Government Association, A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition), 3 March 2025.; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Reserving competitions for below-threshold contracts (updated 16 February 2026).
Related possible improvement actions
Willingness to make change happenTTM-02 People recognise that barriers exist and are willing to question established assumptions, behaviours and practices where these get in the way of better local engagement.
Detail
The willingness to improve may be stronger than current performance suggests. People can know that something is not working, understand that inherited approaches are outdated, and want change, while still finding it difficult to challenge established practice or be the individual who ‘puts their head above the parapet’. A constructive appetite to question and improve creates an important starting point even where the practical changes have not yet been made.
Comments / reasoning
It is important to distinguish poor current practice from lack of appetite: a council may have significant weaknesses while also having broad readiness to improve. Surfacing that willingness matters because shared evidence and a structured process can make it easier to challenge inherited assumptions without relying on one individual to take all the personal risk. This should later be reflected in at least one Value Code so the diagnostic can reveal readiness for change rather than only deficiencies.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), especially “Modernising attitudes”, pp. 8-9, “Why removing the barriers matters”, pp. 18-19, and the elected member / officer checklists, pp. 20-22 and 36.
Supporting source Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “What can, and should, change”.
Related possible improvement actions
A shared understanding of localTTM-03 People have a sufficiently clear and useful common understanding of which organisations and communities the council means when it talks about ‘local’.
Detail
The guide identifies ambiguity around council boundaries, neighbouring areas, postcodes, where employees live, supply chains and subcontractors. A definition needs to be useful enough to support decisions while recognising that local economic activity does not stop neatly at administrative boundaries. Different parts of the council should not be pursuing materially different interpretations without realising it.
Comments / reasoning
Important for consistency, targeting, measurement and communication. The value lies less in creating a perfect geographical definition than in enabling coherent decisions around the local benefit the council is trying to create.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Defining what is local”, pp. 10-11.
Supporting source Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Reserving competitions for below-threshold contracts (updated 16 February 2026).
Related possible improvement actions
Understanding how small organisations workTTM-04 The council understands how small, micro and voluntary organisations actually operate, including their constraints, motivations and differences from larger organisations.
Detail
A central finding of the research is that longstanding assumptions about smaller organisations are outdated. They often perform the same underlying business functions as larger organisations without dedicated teams or spare capacity, making time and administrative overhead particularly important. Some deliberately remain small and may value flexibility, independence and doing excellent work more than organisational growth.
Comments / reasoning
One of the strongest source-derived Things That Matter. The survey exposes a significant gap between what councils think smaller organisations need and what those organisations themselves say matters. This understanding underpins proportionality, communication, engagement and customer attractiveness.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Modernising attitudes”, pp. 8-9; “Professional and cultural behaviours”, pp. 16-18; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 37-41.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 4, “Barriers to small and micro business engagement”.
Supporting sources Department for Business and Trade, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028 (24 March 2026).; Federation of Small Businesses, Signed, sealed, delivered (15 December 2025).
Related possible improvement actions
A coherent council approachTTM-05 Local organisations experience a coherent council rather than disconnected functions pursuing different priorities, processes and behaviours.
Detail
Engagement touches elected members, service departments, procurement, legal, finance, communications, economic development and others. Improvements can be frustrated when these groups are not aligned or when one part of the council inadvertently reinstates barriers another is trying to remove. Internally, people need to understand both the overall intent and their contribution to it.
Comments / reasoning
Particularly important for a multi-perspective diagnostic because disagreement between respondent groups would itself be valuable evidence. This is broader than having a policy or named lead: it concerns whether the council’s intentions and behaviour make sense as a whole.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Understanding the barriers”, pp. 12-18; “Elected member and officer checklist”, pp. 20-22; “Understanding your stakeholders”, pp. 29-31.
Supporting source Local Government Association, A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition), 3 March 2025.
Related possible improvement actions
Considering local impact in decisionsTTM-06 The effect of council decisions on local businesses and voluntary organisations is considered beyond formal procurement activity.
Detail
The guide notes that councils commonly consider environmental and equality impacts but less routinely consider effects on local businesses. Decisions about matters such as charges, parking, planning, procedures or access can create barriers even though procurement is not involved. Being local-organisation-friendly therefore needs to extend into wider council decision-making.
Comments / reasoning
Keeps the diagnostic genuinely council-wide rather than allowing people outside commercial functions to regard it as somebody else’s subject. It also links the stated ambition to support local economies with everyday decisions that can help or hinder them.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Elected member and officer checklist”, pp. 20-21.
Supporting source Local Government Association, A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition), 3 March 2025.
Related possible improvement actions
2Access, engagement and participation
Being an attractive customerTTM-07 The council behaves like an organisation that good local suppliers and partners would actively want to work with.
Detail
The guide deliberately reverses the conventional ‘selling to the council’ mindset: councils also need to sell themselves to potential suppliers. Local organisations make choices about which customers and opportunities deserve their scarce time. Their experience of responsiveness, fairness, ease of working, clarity and previous dealings therefore affects whether they engage at all.
Comments / reasoning
A strong overarching experiential Thing That Matters. It captures the supply-side choice that conventional procurement thinking often overlooks and links many practical issues to a simple question: would a capable local organisation choose us as a customer?
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22; “Understanding your stakeholders”, pp. 29-31; “Key communication messages”, p. 32.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “What can, and should, change”.
Supporting source Department for Business and Trade, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028 (24 March 2026).
Related possible improvement actions
Reaching out to local organisationsTTM-08 The council actively finds, understands and develops connections with relevant local organisations rather than expecting them to find the council.
Detail
Smaller organisations may not monitor procurement portals, belong to traditional trade bodies or have highly visible web presences. The source advocates going into markets and communities, using different networks and creating direct contact. Engagement needs to happen before an organisation is expected to respond to a formal opportunity.
Comments / reasoning
Distinct from merely publishing opportunities. This is about understanding and engaging the local ecosystem, including organisations that will not be reached through conventional procurement channels.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “The importance of marketing and communications” and “Locating local organisations”, pp. 28-33.
Supporting sources Department for Business and Trade, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028 (24 March 2026).; Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.
Related possible improvement actions
Easy-to-find opportunitiesTTM-09 Relevant local organisations can readily discover what the council may buy, what is coming up and how they can become involved without spending scarce time searching in places they would not normally look.
Detail
Businesses reported uncertainty about where to find opportunities as a major deterrent. The guide also stresses that small and micro businesses do not have the time to search multiple websites and procurement platforms simply in case something relevant appears. Better visibility includes future requirements as well as current opportunities, enabling organisations to decide whether something is relevant and prepare accordingly.
Comments / reasoning
This is deliberately framed around the supplier’s experience rather than technical publication or transparency compliance. Information can be publicly available and still, in practical terms, be difficult for a small organisation to find.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Perceptions”, pp. 12-13; “Locating local organisations”, pp. 32-33; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 38-41.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Federation of Small Businesses, Signed, sealed, delivered (15 December 2025).
Related possible improvement actions
Clear and accessible communicationTTM-10 Information intended for local organisations is clear, understandable and usable by the people expected to act on it.
Detail
Council language, documentation, web content and communications can inadvertently assume public-sector knowledge or specialist expertise. The source repeatedly advocates plain language and recognises that some business owners may have particular accessibility needs. Communications should help people understand quickly what matters rather than make them decode council terminology and processes.
Comments / reasoning
Broader than contract wording: this concerns the overall accessibility and clarity of communication with the market and local community. It also supports inclusion by reducing hidden barriers created by jargon and format.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Risk aversion”, pp. 14-15; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22; “Marketing and communications with local organisations”, pp. 28-33.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Federation of Small Businesses, Signed, sealed, delivered (15 December 2025).
Related possible improvement actions
Making engagement worth the effortTTM-11 The time, paperwork and administrative effort required to engage with the council are reasonable in relation to the opportunity and the resources available to smaller organisations.
Detail
Time spent registering, completing forms, supplying generic information or navigating process is time not spent finding customers or delivering work. The burden can make an otherwise attractive opportunity commercially irrational. Smaller organisations particularly notice requirements that appear to exist because of council process rather than because they contribute to the outcome.
Comments / reasoning
A major experiential theme from the research. The phrase captures the real decision facing a small organisation: whether working with the council is worth the scarce time and effort involved. It is likely to factor into several more discrete Value Codes later.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Understanding the barriers”, pp. 12-18; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 38-41.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Federation of Small Businesses, Signed, sealed, delivered (15 December 2025).
Related possible improvement actions
A fair chance to participateTTM-12 Small, micro and voluntary organisations have a genuine opportunity to participate where they are capable of delivering value.
Detail
A prominent deterrent among organisations not already trading with councils was the perception that councils mainly deal with larger companies. Large contract packages, frameworks, unnecessary qualification expectations and assumptions about organisational size can reinforce that perception. Smaller organisations should not be invited merely to make up competition where there is no realistic prospect of appointment.
Comments / reasoning
This concerns genuine inclusion in the market, not favourable treatment irrespective of capability. It brings together perceived and actual barriers that can leave smaller organisations feeling that council opportunities are ‘not for businesses like us’.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Understanding the barriers”, pp. 12-18; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 38-41.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Reserving competitions for below-threshold contracts (updated 16 February 2026).
Related possible improvement actions
3Commercial and relational working
A proportionate approach to riskTTM-13 The council manages genuine risks and assurance needs in ways that are appropriate to the scale, nature and circumstances of the opportunity.
Detail
The guide links council risk aversion to cumbersome processes, excessive policy requirements, inappropriate financial expectations and contracts designed primarily around failure. Safeguarding public resources remains important, but additional controls themselves create cost, delay and exclusion. The practical question is whether the approach reflects the actual risk rather than automatically applying the expectations associated with larger or more complex contracts.
Comments / reasoning
This is deliberately broader and more natural than ‘risk controls’. It concerns the council’s underlying approach to risk and how that manifests in requirements, assurance, delegated authority, contracts and behaviour.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Risk aversion”, pp. 14-15; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “Take risks” and “Policy and procedures”.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Conditions of Participation (2026), including proportionality, financial capacity and insurance requirements.; Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.
Related possible improvement actions
Room to offer the right solutionTTM-14 The way needs are defined gives capable local organisations reasonable scope to offer effective solutions rather than unnecessarily ruling them out or prescribing the answer.
Detail
Overly restrictive specifications can favour established or larger providers and constrain innovation. The source argues for outcome-focused requirements, appropriate lotting and openness to consortium or subcontracting arrangements. What matters is not use of any particular mechanism but whether capable smaller organisations can realistically respond to the need and bring forward what they do well.
Comments / reasoning
Keeps the Thing That Matters outcome-oriented rather than turning lotting, consortia or specification techniques into ends in themselves. It also links participation with innovation and better solutions.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Processes”, pp. 15-16; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 38-41.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Cabinet Office, Guidance: Conditions of Participation (2026), including proportionality, financial capacity and insurance requirements.
Related possible improvement actions
Contracts that support successTTM-15 Contractual arrangements are understandable, proportionate and designed to help the parties achieve the intended outcomes, not primarily to prepare for failure.
Detail
Complex or heavily defensive contracts impose disproportionate legal and management costs on smaller organisations and can deter voluntary organisations altogether. The report advocates plain language and a shift from protecting against every conceivable failure towards establishing workable commercial relationships. Terms still need to address genuine risks and obligations.
Comments / reasoning
Broader than ‘plain-language contracts’: language is one manifestation, while purpose, proportionality and usability are also important. The central test is whether the contract helps create the conditions for successful delivery.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Risk aversion”, pp. 14-15; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22; stakeholder actions for Legal, pp. 30-31.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “Contracts” and “Skills and knowledge”.
Supporting source World Commerce & Contracting, Relational Contracting and Governance Guide (2024).
Related possible improvement actions
Being able to talk openlyTTM-16 Local organisations can communicate with appropriate people, ask meaningful questions and have useful conversations rather than interacting only through systems and formal processes.
Detail
Organisations not currently working with councils highlighted difficulty speaking to the right people. The guide distinguishes legitimate collaboration and market dialogue from collusion and warns against excessive reliance on portals and advertising. Two-way contact helps both sides understand needs, constraints and whether an opportunity is worth pursuing.
Comments / reasoning
A deliberately human formulation. People across a council may have very different perceptions of how approachable the organisation is, making this especially useful in a multi-perspective assessment.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Perceptions” and “Risk aversion”, pp. 12-15; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, pp. 21-22; stakeholder actions, pp. 30-31.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Federation of Small Businesses, Signed, sealed, delivered (15 December 2025).
Related possible improvement actions
Strong working relationshipsTTM-17 Once organisations work together, the relationship helps them achieve good outcomes, resolve difficulties and adapt rather than relying solely on contractual enforcement.
Detail
The guide emphasises contract and relationship management, approachability, flexibility, problem solving and a ‘can do’ attitude as important forms of value. Many of the things commissioners appreciate after award are relational and difficult to monetise. Strong relationships can also help manage risks that would otherwise be addressed through burdensome pre-contract controls.
Comments / reasoning
Distinct from dialogue during market engagement: this concerns how working together is experienced through delivery. It reflects the presentation’s emphasis on ‘less contract, more relationship’.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Professional and cultural behaviours”, pp. 16-18; “People Value”, pp. 25-26; “Chief Officers and Heads of Service”, p. 22.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “Skills and knowledge – less contract more relationship”.
Supporting source World Commerce & Contracting, Relational Contracting and Governance Guide (2024).
Related possible improvement actions
Simple, reliable transactionsTTM-18 Routine commercial dealings with the council consume as little unnecessary effort as possible and allow organisations to be paid reliably and efficiently.
Detail
Small organisations are particularly sensitive to cash flow and administrative overhead. The guide describes how registration, purchase orders, invoicing and low-value transaction processes can cost both parties more than they add in control or value. Prompt payment matters, but so does removing needless friction around the transaction itself.
Comments / reasoning
Broader and more useful than a Thing That Matters simply called ‘prompt payment’. It captures the full day-to-day transactional experience of doing business with the council.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Systems”, pp. 16-17; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 38-41.
Supporting source Cabinet Office, The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers (23 June 2026).
Related possible improvement actions
4Value, feedback and sustained improvement
Recognising value beyond priceTTM-19 The council recognises the wider value local businesses and voluntary organisations can create, rather than reducing value to purchase price or monetised social-value claims.
Detail
Local organisations can contribute economic circulation, employment, community connection, flexibility, specialist knowledge, shorter supply chains and social and environmental benefits. The guide argues strongly against assuming all valuable outcomes can or should be monetised. Their contribution should be visible in how opportunities and results are considered.
Comments / reasoning
A central bridge between the source material and the wider Value Codes approach, but it is explicitly present in the report rather than being imposed by the methodology. It also guards against procurement decisions that optimise price while destroying other forms of local value.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Achieving value beyond monetisation” and “The commercial case”, pp. 23-27.
Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “Demonetise value”.
Supporting sources Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.; Local Government Association, A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition), 3 March 2025.
Related possible improvement actions
Feedback that changes practiceTTM-20 The council listens to the experience of local organisations and uses what it learns to remove barriers and improve how it works.
Detail
One of the source’s clearest findings is the mismatch between council perceptions and those of businesses and voluntary organisations. Asking for feedback has little value if the organisation explains away the response or leaves processes unchanged. Post-contract review, supplier feedback and continuing engagement provide opportunities to challenge internal assumptions with real experience.
Comments / reasoning
The value lies in learning and adaptation, not in the act of collecting feedback. This also makes differences between internal perceptions and external experience a constructive source of improvement rather than a problem to defend against.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), “Perceptions”, pp. 12-13; “Measuring the outcomes”, pp. 34-36; Appendix A – Survey Results, pp. 37-41.
Supporting sources Federation of Small Businesses, Signed, sealed, delivered (15 December 2025).; Cabinet Office, The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers (23 June 2026).; Cabinet Office, Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives (2026), especially “Barriers to SME participation and their removal or reduction”.
Related possible improvement actions
Knowing change is workingTTM-21 People can see whether intentions are turning into better behaviours, experiences and outcomes, and whether agreed improvements are actually being sustained.
Detail
Publishing a policy or announcing an initiative is not the same as implementation. The source advocates agreed outcomes, measures, reporting, leadership accountability and evidence of increased participation and improved perceptions. Useful evidence should show whether local organisations actually experience the council differently, not merely whether activities have occurred.
Comments / reasoning
A more natural Thing That Matters label than ‘visible progress and accountability’. It closes the loop from willingness and strategic intent through action to observable improvement, while leaving the eventual Value Codes to separate measurement, accountability and learning if needed.
Source
Building a local Business and voluntary sector friendly council – Best practice guides (Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026), especially “Modernising attitudes”, pp. 8-9, “Why removing the barriers matters”, pp. 18-19, and the elected member / officer checklists, pp. 20-22 and 36.
Supporting source Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses (Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC), slide 5, “What can, and should, change”.
Related possible improvement actions
Possible Improvement Actions
These actions are deliberately many-to-many: one action may help several Things That Matter, and one Thing That Matters may require a combination of actions.
1Alignment, evidence and ownership
Diagnose the current experienceA01 Use a structured, multi-perspective assessment to establish how local-business-friendly the council is experienced to be now, where views differ, and where people lack enough visibility to judge.
Suggested approach
Invite respondents from elected leadership, senior management, commissioning/service teams, procurement, legal, finance, economic development, communications and contract management, with a representative external group of local businesses and voluntary organisations where feasible. Assess the same underlying issues across roles, allow an explicit ‘don’t know / not enough visibility’ response, and analyse both the selected levels and comments. Treat variation between groups as evidence to explore rather than something to average away.
Why it is worth doing
This creates a defensible baseline and can act as a catalyst: the case for change comes from the structured collective view of people closest to the work, rather than requiring one individual to challenge established practice on their own.
Useful output / evidence
Baseline diagnostic report; response profile by role; areas of agreement, disagreement and “don’t know”; prioritised issues requiring discussion.
Domain source basis
The LGE research demonstrates marked differences between council and supplier perceptions. The LGA already uses five-level diagnostics and “value codes” to help councils self-assess, compare perspectives and benchmark procurement maturity. Extending the assessment beyond procurement and including supplier perspectives directly responds to the LGE evidence about cross-council ownership and perception gaps. It is especially useful where willingness exists but nobody wants to be the lone challenger.
LGE guide: “Perceptions”, pp. 12-13; Appendix A, pp. 37-41. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report); National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022 – Toolkit
Related Things That Matter
Agree what “good” looks like locallyA02 Turn the baseline into a shared view of the outcomes and behaviours the council actually wants, rather than assuming every area must reach the same maturity level.
Suggested approach
Bring a cross-section of respondents together to review the diagnostic evidence, identify the issues that matter most locally and agree the desired direction of travel. Be explicit about trade-offs and local context: some areas may only need a sound baseline, while others merit leading practice. Capture the agreed priorities in plain language that can be understood outside procurement.
Why it is worth doing
A council can have willingness without alignment. Agreeing the desired state converts diffuse concern into a common reference point for action and reduces the risk of different functions pursuing incompatible fixes.
Useful output / evidence
Agreed description of the desired position; a small set of priority outcomes/behaviours; documented trade-offs and local choices.
Domain source basis
The LGA diagnostic says councils should determine their own priorities, define what matters to them and decide the level of attainment they want; its 2026 report asks what “good” should look like and encourages local action plans. Using the diagnostic discussion to align multiple roles around a common desired state follows directly from the LGE guide’s emphasis on a unified cross-cutting approach.
LGE guide: “Elected member and officer checklist”, pp. 20-22 and 27; “Measuring the outcomes”, pp. 34-36. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report); National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022
Related Things That Matter
Create a cross-council improvement coalitionA03 Give the work visible sponsorship and shared ownership across the functions that can remove barriers, rather than locating responsibility solely in procurement.
Suggested approach
Nominate a senior sponsor, an elected-member champion where appropriate, a practical officer lead and a small cross-functional group including service commissioning, procurement, legal, finance, economic development, communications and contract management. Add an SME/VCSE champion role or equivalent advocate. Make the group responsible for resolving cross-functional blockers and keeping the action plan moving.
Why it is worth doing
Many barriers exist between functions. Shared ownership also reduces dependence on a single person “putting their head above the parapet” and makes willingness to change more visible and safer to act on.
Useful output / evidence
Named sponsor and officer lead; cross-functional membership and terms of reference; agreed governance and escalation route.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide repeatedly calls for all relevant stakeholders to be included and a lead officer to be accountable. MHCLG’s SME Action Plan includes an SME champion and enhanced commercial governance. The LGA NPS promotes a “one team” approach. A cross-functional coalition makes willingness to improve visible, spreads ownership and reduces reliance on a single individual to challenge established practice.
LGE guide: pp. 20-22, 27, 29-31. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028; National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022
Related Things That Matter
Agree and publish what “local” meansA04 Adopt a practical, shared definition of local that can be applied consistently to procurement, engagement, reporting and economic-development activity.
Suggested approach
Use the MHCLG rules where the council intends to reserve eligible below-threshold competitions by geography, and separately clarify any broader local-economic definition used for engagement or reporting. Explain how neighbouring areas, supplier locations, subcontractors and local employment will be treated. Make the definition easy for officers and suppliers to find.
Why it is worth doing
A vague or inconsistent definition undermines targeting, measurement and fairness. A clear operational definition also helps people distinguish lawful local reservation from wider place-based economic objectives.
Useful output / evidence
Published operational definition of “local”; guidance on when legal reservation rules apply; consistent reporting categories.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide identifies definition of local as a major challenge. MHCLG’s 2026 guidance defines the legal basis and safeguards for locally reserved below-threshold competitions. A single council-wide explanation reduces the risk that departments use incompatible definitions without realising it.
LGE guide: “Defining what is local”, pp. 10-11. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Reserving competitions for below-threshold contracts
Related Things That Matter
Publish a focused local-organisation action planA05 Convert priorities into a short programme of owned, time-bound improvements with clear evidence of whether they are working.
Suggested approach
Choose the small number of improvements that matter most from the diagnostic, name an owner for each, define milestones and identify the evidence that will demonstrate progress. Include both behavioural/experience measures and commercial outcomes. Review the plan at an agreed senior forum rather than treating publication as completion.
Why it is worth doing
A long wish-list can dissipate ownership. A focused plan makes willingness actionable and creates a mechanism for departments to coordinate their contributions.
Useful output / evidence
Short improvement plan with owners, milestones and evidence measures; agreed review dates; visible status reporting.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide calls for measurable action plans, named accountability and reporting. MHCLG publishes an SME Action Plan with actions and milestones; the LGA 2026 diagnostic encourages regions to develop local action plans. Prioritising actions from a structured assessment creates a traceable line from evidence to intervention and later reassessment.
LGE guide: pp. 20-22, 27 and 34-36. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028; National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report)
Related Things That Matter
Add local-organisation impact to decisionsA06 Build a proportionate check into relevant council decisions so that policies outside procurement do not unintentionally create new barriers for local organisations.
Suggested approach
For decisions likely to affect local trading conditions or access to council opportunities, require a short consideration of likely effects on small/micro businesses and voluntary organisations. Use evidence from local engagement where available and record mitigations. This can sit alongside existing equality, environmental or financial considerations rather than becoming a heavy new process.
Why it is worth doing
Parking, fees, planning, systems, access arrangements and internal policy can affect the same organisations the council is trying to support through procurement.
Useful output / evidence
A proportionate local-organisation impact prompt/check in relevant decision templates; examples of decisions changed or mitigated as a result.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide specifically recommends impact assessment for measures that could adversely affect local businesses and notes the lack of a sector-wide model. A light-touch prompt in existing decision templates is a practical way to make the stated local-business ambition visible outside the commercial function.
LGE guide: “Elected member and officer checklist”, pp. 20-21. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition)
Related Things That Matter
Build shared commercial and small-business awarenessA07 Give the people who shape requirements, processes and relationships enough understanding of small organisations and current procurement flexibilities to make proportionate decisions.
Suggested approach
Use short cross-role briefings rather than procurement-only training. Include the realities of micro/small business capacity, current Procurement Act flexibilities, proportionality, preliminary market engagement, local below-threshold options, commercial judgement and relationship management. Bring in local business or VCSE voices so the learning is grounded in experience.
Why it is worth doing
The source research shows that outdated assumptions and cultural behaviours are at least as important as technical rules. Shared awareness helps teams use the flexibility they already have instead of defaulting to inherited practice.
Useful output / evidence
Briefing/training material; attendance and learning feedback; shared guidance on small-business constraints and commercial behaviours.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide recommends commercial-awareness learning and better understanding of small organisations. The LGA says councillors and officers need suitable skills; Cabinet Office provides Procurement Act training and guidance. Learning together supports cross-council alignment and reduces the tendency for one function to reintroduce barriers another has removed.
LGE guide: “Modernising attitudes”, pp. 8-9; “Professional and cultural behaviours”, pp. 16-18; pp. 20-22. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers
Related Things That Matter
Use peer review and external challengeA08 Test the council’s self-view with another council and/or a small supplier panel so that improvement is informed by evidence beyond the internal team.
Suggested approach
After the baseline assessment, invite a peer council, regional procurement group or representative supplier/VCSE group to challenge the findings and proposed priorities. Focus on areas with high disagreement, many “don’t know” responses or persistent low scores. Use exemplars to understand what stronger practice looks like rather than simply copying processes.
Why it is worth doing
External challenge can legitimise issues that individuals have struggled to raise internally and can distinguish local constraints from avoidable habits.
Useful output / evidence
Peer-review findings or supplier-panel feedback; challenged assumptions; agreed actions arising from external scrutiny.
Domain source basis
The LGA 2026 diagnostic proposes peer review of council responses and sharing experience from higher-performing councils; the NPS toolkit is designed for assessment and improvement. Including supplier challenge is a natural extension of the LGE report’s evidence that internal perceptions can diverge sharply from supplier experience.
LGE guide: “Perceptions”, pp. 12-13; Appendix A, pp. 37-41. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report); National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022 – Toolkit
Related Things That Matter
2Understanding markets and reaching suppliers
Map local spend and opportunityA09 Use spend and category information to identify where local organisations already contribute, where money leaves the area and which markets offer realistic opportunities for greater participation.
Suggested approach
Analyse council spend by category, supplier size and location where data allows. Combine this with forward demand and market characteristics to identify categories where local SMEs/VCSEs could plausibly compete directly or through supply chains. Treat the analysis as a starting point for market engagement, not as a target to force local purchasing where it would not deliver value.
Why it is worth doing
Targeting scarce outreach and procurement effort at suitable markets makes the programme more credible and increases the chance of tangible economic and service benefits.
Useful output / evidence
Local-spend and category map; priority markets/opportunities; gaps where local capacity exists but participation is low.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide stresses the need for more sophisticated market and supply-base understanding. The LGA councillor guide says councils need visibility of what they spend and with whom. CLES provides place-based procurement and spend-analysis approaches. Bringing spend, demand and local supplier intelligence together supports a more selective and evidence-led local-business strategy.
LGE guide: “Defining what is local”, pp. 10-11; “The commercial case”, pp. 24-27. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); Progressive procurement of goods and services
Related Things That Matter
Build a living picture of local suppliers and networksA10 Maintain enough current knowledge of local businesses, voluntary organisations and intermediary networks to know who might be relevant before an opportunity is advertised.
Suggested approach
Create a lightweight market/contact record by category, drawing on economic-development contacts, FSB and Chamber networks, trade groups, VCSE networks, community groups and prior suppliers. Keep it as intelligence and an outreach aid, not an “approved supplier list” that becomes a barrier. Record contact preferences and useful market observations.
Why it is worth doing
The guide’s central message is that many small organisations do not have the resources to find the council. The council therefore needs a better picture of the market if it wants to broaden participation.
Useful output / evidence
Maintained supplier/network map or directory; named intermediary contacts; evidence of regular refresh and use in market engagement.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide recommends locating organisations through specialised trade groups, local community networks, business events and direct outreach, and says councils need to go out and find them. A maintained market/contact picture makes that outreach repeatable rather than dependent on individual memory.
LGE guide: “Locating local organisations”, pp. 32-33. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Local Economy of the Future: A Business-led Plan for Thriving Communities; Progressive procurement of goods and services
Related Things That Matter
Publish a useful forward opportunity pipelineA11 Give smaller organisations enough advance visibility of likely opportunities to decide whether to prepare, partner or opt out.
Suggested approach
Publish a forward look that goes beyond the statutory minimum where practical, including expected timing, indicative value/scale, likely route to market, service/category, contact point and whether the opportunity appears suitable for SMEs/VCSEs or local reservation. Keep it current and link it from the council’s business-facing pages.
Why it is worth doing
Small organisations cannot keep spare bid teams waiting. Advance notice allows them to plan capacity, form partnerships and make rational bid/no-bid decisions.
Useful output / evidence
Forward pipeline in an accessible format; publication/refresh schedule; supplier usage or feedback on its usefulness.
Domain source basis
Cabinet Office guidance names comprehensive pipeline publication as an action that can reduce SME barriers. MHCLG’s SME Action Plan commits to increasing pipeline frequency and including routes to market and SME suitability. Publishing smaller and below-threshold opportunities where feasible responds directly to the LGE/FSB concern that these are often the most relevant opportunities but the hardest for small firms to discover early.
LGE guide: “Perceptions”, pp. 12-13; “Key communication messages”, pp. 32-34. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Related Things That Matter
Create one clear “work with us” front doorA12 Make the council easy to understand as a customer through a simple business-facing page that signposts opportunities, contacts, processes and support.
Suggested approach
Use plain language to bring together the opportunity pipeline, current notices, how to register on Find a Tender, key contacts, standard documents/terms, payment expectations, market-engagement events, FAQs and a route for feedback. Design it around what a small organisation needs to decide what to do next, not around the council’s internal structure.
Why it is worth doing
A single front door reduces hunting between procurement, economic development and service pages and signals that the council expects to be understandable to businesses that are new to public procurement.
Useful output / evidence
Single “work with us” web entry point; clear signposting to opportunities, contacts and guidance; user-testing feedback.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide calls for a business-friendly online presence and says councils need to sell to suppliers. MHCLG’s SME Action Plan commits to improving information on how to work with the department. Combining information from multiple functions into one supplier journey supports the coherent-council ambition.
LGE guide: pp. 20-22 and 28-36. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers
Related Things That Matter
Go where local organisations already areA13 Use proactive outreach through existing local business and community networks instead of relying on tender portals and council websites to generate interest.
Suggested approach
Plan targeted outreach around upcoming needs. Work with Chambers, FSB, trade associations, VCSE networks, family-business groups, community platforms and local economic-development contacts; visit trading estates or business clusters where useful. Use these channels to explain upcoming demand and invite organisations into early market engagement.
Why it is worth doing
This reaches firms that are capable of delivering but do not routinely monitor public-sector portals or belong to traditional procurement networks.
Useful output / evidence
Outreach plan and record of engagement through local networks; new supplier contacts generated; evidence of harder-to-reach organisations engaged.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide explicitly recommends visiting trading estates, using community and specialist networks, and says “go out and find local businesses – they do not have the resources to find you”. Linking outreach to actual future demand makes it more valuable than generic “meet the buyer” promotion.
LGE guide: Foreword; “Locating local organisations”, pp. 32-33. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Local Economy of the Future: A Business-led Plan for Thriving Communities; Progressive procurement of goods and services
Related Things That Matter
Make engagement fit suppliers’ timeA14 Design supplier engagement so that taking part is realistic for small organisations with limited time and no dedicated bid team.
Suggested approach
Use free, easy-to-access virtual sessions where suitable; record sessions when possible; offer project-specific Q&A and consider evening or Saturday formats for local microbusiness audiences where evidence supports it. Avoid unnecessary travel and long generic presentations. Ask participants which formats work for them and adapt.
Why it is worth doing
The cost of engagement is mostly people’s time. Reducing that cost signals that the council understands the operating reality of smaller organisations.
Useful output / evidence
Supplier-friendly engagement schedule and formats; reduced avoidable attendance burden; supplier feedback on accessibility of events/briefings.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide cites improved engagement from Saturday events and argues that small firms cannot spare time like large companies. Cabinet Office guidance suggests digital formats to save supplier time and cost; MHCLG commits to accessible virtual engagement and recordings. Offering a mix of formats rather than a fixed “meet the buyer” model follows the source emphasis on adapting to supplier working patterns.
LGE guide: pp. 16-18 and 30-33. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Related Things That Matter
Use preliminary market engagement to shape the opportunityA15 Talk to the market early enough for supplier insight to influence the requirement, route to market, timetable, terms and participation conditions.
Suggested approach
Before launch, test whether the requirement is understandable, whether contract size/lotting is sensible, whether the timetable is workable and whether proposed terms, qualifications or insurance will exclude capable suppliers. Invite feedback from both established suppliers and organisations new to the council. Record the main insights and what changed as a result.
Why it is worth doing
Early engagement improves the council’s understanding and allows suppliers to prepare. It also surfaces barriers while they can still be changed rather than after bids fail to arrive.
Useful output / evidence
Market-engagement plan and record; supplier insights captured; clear evidence of changes to scope, route, timetable or conditions before tender.
Domain source basis
Cabinet Office guidance treats preliminary market engagement as an important pre-procurement activity. MHCLG’s SME Action Plan says it benefits buyers and suppliers and should include feedback on requirements and terms of participation. The LGA says the best results are obtained by engaging the market before advertising. Using the engagement deliberately as a barrier test connects the statutory flexibility to the LGE report’s central finding about mismatched assumptions.
LGE guide: pp. 12-15, 20-22 and 30-31. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Preliminary Market Engagement; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition)
Related Things That Matter
Give suppliers a human route to the right peopleA16 Provide a clear, fair way for organisations to ask useful questions and reach an appropriate person rather than interacting only through systems.
Suggested approach
Name a contact route for each significant opportunity and a general supplier contact for navigation questions. Publish Q&A where fairness requires the same information to be shared with all bidders. Use brief supplier office hours or structured Q&A during early engagement where this helps. Make it easy to escalate a process problem without needing personal contacts inside the council.
Why it is worth doing
“Unable to speak with the right people” was one of the strongest deterrents among organisations not currently doing business with councils.
Useful output / evidence
Named/contactable routes for market questions; response standards; evidence that enquiries reach appropriate people and are answered consistently.
Domain source basis
The LGE survey and guidance identify access to the right people as a major issue and advocate open market briefings. The Procurement Act objectives emphasise information sharing, integrity and transparency. A human route can coexist with equal treatment if questions and answers that affect the competition are handled transparently.
LGE guide: “Perceptions” and “Risk aversion”, pp. 12-15; stakeholder actions, pp. 30-31. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives; Guidance: Preliminary Market Engagement
Related Things That Matter
3Designing accessible opportunities and procurements
Specify outcomes, not unnecessary methodsA17 Write requirements around the outcomes the council needs and remove constraints that unnecessarily prescribe how suppliers must deliver them.
Suggested approach
Challenge model specifications and inherited wording. State mandatory outcomes, interfaces and genuine constraints clearly, but leave room for suppliers to propose different methods, technology or service models. Allow equivalent qualifications or technical approaches where the law requires or permits this.
Why it is worth doing
Over-prescription can exclude smaller specialist providers and suppress the innovation and flexibility that the sources identify as SME strengths.
Useful output / evidence
Outcome-focused specification/statement of need; documented removal of unnecessary constraints; bidder feedback on freedom to propose solutions.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide recommends outcome-focused, inclusive specifications and says “make specifications less restrictive”. The LGA NPS promotes outcomes-based procurement and market-making as a route to innovation. Treating the specification as a design choice to test in market engagement makes “innovation” practical rather than rhetorical.
LGE guide: pp. 20-22 and Appendix A, pp. 38-41. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022; Guidance: Conditions of Participation
Related Things That Matter
Consider lots and smaller contract packagesA18 Systematically test whether large requirements can be split into lots or tranches that capable smaller organisations can realistically deliver.
Suggested approach
At planning stage, consider lotting by geography, service, specialist discipline or delivery phase where this improves competition and manageability. Record the rationale where the council decides not to split a covered procurement. Avoid creating lots so small or interdependent that they add disproportionate management cost or delivery risk.
Why it is worth doing
Contract scale is a structural barrier: a small supplier can be capable of excellent delivery while being unable to absorb the volume or working capital of a single large package.
Useful output / evidence
Lotting/packaging assessment; rationale where requirements remain aggregated; increased accessibility of relevant opportunities to smaller suppliers.
Domain source basis
The Procurement Act creates a duty to consider lots for public contracts; Cabinet Office guidance and the LGE guide both identify lots as a means of facilitating SME access. Treating lotting as a market-design decision rather than a blanket rule preserves value and delivery practicality.
LGE guide: pp. 12-13 and 20-22. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Lots; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives
Related Things That Matter
Make consortium and subcontract routes workableA19 Enable small organisations to combine capacity or specialist capability rather than requiring every bidder to meet every requirement alone.
Suggested approach
State clearly where consortium bids, joint delivery or reliance on subcontractors are permitted. Allow reasonable time for partnerships to form and explain the evidence needed. Use market-engagement events to help relevant organisations meet each other without steering or creating unfair advantage. For larger contracts, consider how prime suppliers will open meaningful routes into their supply chains.
Why it is worth doing
This expands participation without lowering delivery standards and can build local supply-chain resilience.
Useful output / evidence
Clear consortium/subcontracting provisions; bidder guidance; evidence of collaborative bids or local subcontract participation where appropriate.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide recommends allowing consortia. Cabinet Office Conditions of Participation guidance expressly allows suppliers to rely on other suppliers, including consortium members and subcontractors, to satisfy relevant conditions. Using early engagement for networking follows MHCLG’s observation that market events can support development of supply chains.
LGE guide: pp. 20-22. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Conditions of Participation; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Related Things That Matter
Use local and SME/VCSE reservations where appropriateA20 Use the new below-threshold freedoms selectively where market evidence shows that a reserved competition can deliver genuine competition, value and local benefit.
Suggested approach
For eligible below-threshold requirements, consider whether to reserve competition to suppliers in the defined local area and/or to SMEs/VCSEs in accordance with current rules. Base the choice on market intelligence and document the reasoning. Do not use reservation where the local market is too thin or where it would undermine value, resilience or the required outcome.
Why it is worth doing
The December 2025/2026 change gives councils a practical new lever to translate local-economic intent into spend, but it needs informed use rather than automatic local preference.
Useful output / evidence
Documented market rationale for any reserved competition; compliant notice/decision record; monitoring of participation and outcomes.
Domain source basis
MHCLG guidance explains how relevant authorities may reserve eligible below-threshold competitions to local and UK suppliers and options for SME/VCSE reservations. The LGE guide identifies this as a significant new opportunity. Combining the legal freedom with market mapping and a shared definition of local makes its use more defensible and effective.
LGE guide: “Local business matters” and “Defining what is local”, pp. 10-11. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Reserving competitions for below-threshold contracts
Related Things That Matter
Build an SME/VCSE barrier check into procurement assuranceA21 Before an opportunity goes live, require a short check that the planned process has genuinely considered barriers faced by smaller organisations.
Suggested approach
Use a concise gateway prompt covering contract scale/lots, route to market, timetable, paperwork, participation conditions, financial tests, insurance, social value, contract terms, accessibility and market engagement. Ask what evidence supports the design and what was changed to reduce barriers. Keep the check proportionate to the procurement.
Why it is worth doing
It converts “have regard to barriers” from an aspiration into an observable decision discipline and can stop old templates quietly recreating barriers.
Useful output / evidence
Pre-publication SME/VCSE barrier-check record; identified barriers and mitigations; assurance evidence before the opportunity goes live.
Domain source basis
Cabinet Office guidance requires genuine consideration of SME barriers in covered procurement. MHCLG’s SME Action Plan is introducing governance to assure timetables, terms, routes to market and procedural steps from an SME perspective. A short barrier check is a practical mechanism for the council-wide alignment and reflection advocated by the LGE guide.
LGE guide: “Understanding the barriers”, pp. 12-18. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Related Things That Matter
Modernise contract standing orders and delegationsA22 Review local rules so that below-threshold procurement is proportionate, flexible and aligned with current law rather than inherited process habits.
Suggested approach
Examine competition thresholds, delegated authority, fixed quote-count rules, sealed-bid requirements, mandatory process steps and treatment of proprietary or thin markets. Replace blanket rules with risk- and market-informed controls where governance permits. Ensure the rules accommodate lawful local/SME reservations and current Procurement Act procedures.
Why it is worth doing
Internal rules can create barriers even where legislation allows a simpler route. Updating them can also reduce council processing cost and lead time.
Useful output / evidence
Updated contract standing orders/delegations; simplified below-threshold routes; guidance and briefing for officers using the revised rules.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide identifies outdated Contract Standing Orders as a major source of unnecessary burden and recommends keeping them current and empowering local-business use. The LGA councillor guide recommends reviewing CSOs for fitness for purpose. Using the Procurement Act’s greater flexibility requires internal governance to stop assuming the old process is mandatory.
LGE guide: “Processes”, pp. 15-16; “Elected member and officer checklist”, pp. 20-21. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers
Related Things That Matter
Ask only for information that is necessaryA23 Remove duplicate, generic and “tick-box” information requests that do not materially help the council judge capability, risk or value.
Suggested approach
Review RFQ/ITT and supplier-onboarding fields. Use declarations where evidence is not needed until later, reuse information available through the central digital platform, and do not ask every bidder for policies unrelated to the requirement. Where evidence is needed, ask for it at the least burdensome point in the process.
Why it is worth doing
Administrative burden consumes scarce bid capacity and can cause capable suppliers to opt out before price or quality are ever considered.
Useful output / evidence
Shortened information requirements/templates; removal of duplicate questions; evidence that requested information is tied to a real decision or risk.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide repeatedly warns against generic compliance questions. Cabinet Office guidance says conditions and evidence must be proportionate and supporting evidence should not be overly arduous; the Procurement Act central platform is intended to reuse core supplier information. A field-by-field “why do we need this?” review is a low-cost way to turn proportionality into practice.
LGE guide: “Processes”, pp. 15-16; pp. 20-22 and 30-31. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Conditions of Participation; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers
Related Things That Matter
Make participation conditions proportionateA24 Set financial, insurance, experience and qualification requirements at the level genuinely needed to deliver the contract.
Suggested approach
Test every condition against the nature, cost and complexity of the requirement. Avoid unnecessary audited-account requirements, inflated turnover/credit thresholds and insurance levels. Do not require insurance to be in place before award where the Act prohibits this; accept appropriate alternative evidence and equivalents. Avoid requiring prior experience with the council itself.
Why it is worth doing
Disproportionate entry conditions can exclude capable local organisations before their proposed solution is considered.
Useful output / evidence
Proportionate financial/insurance/experience criteria with recorded rationale; fewer waivers/escalations caused by excessive standard thresholds.
Domain source basis
Cabinet Office Conditions of Participation guidance is explicit that conditions must be proportionate and includes specific restrictions on audited accounts and pre-award insurance. The LGE guide identifies excessive financial and insurance expectations as barriers. Testing conditions during preliminary market engagement can reveal whether apparently normal thresholds are unrealistic for the target market.
LGE guide: “Risk aversion” and “Processes”, pp. 14-16. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Conditions of Participation; Guidance: Preliminary Market Engagement
Related Things That Matter
Give bidders enough time and a fast bid/no-bid viewA25 Help organisations decide quickly whether an opportunity is genuinely suitable, and then give them a realistic period to respond.
Suggested approach
Put a short executive summary at the front of the opportunity covering need, value/scale, mandatory criteria, key terms, evaluation approach and timetable. Avoid unnecessarily short deadlines and take account of holiday periods. Where procurement design permits, answer clarifying questions early enough to affect bid preparation.
Why it is worth doing
Small firms often make bid decisions personally and quickly. Clear entry information reduces wasted effort for both supplier and council.
Useful output / evidence
Concise opportunity summary with key pass/fail requirements; realistic timetable; supplier feedback showing faster and better-informed bid/no-bid decisions.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide recommends an executive summary and minimum entry requirements; Cabinet Office guidance identifies short bid timescales as an SME barrier. Pairing early clarity with reasonable time makes the council’s invitation feel credible rather than merely accessible in theory.
LGE guide: pp. 20-22 and 30-31. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Related Things That Matter
Standardise simple procurement documentsA26 Use a small family of consistent RFQ/ITT templates and supporting documents for routine procurements, adapted only where the requirement genuinely needs something different.
Suggested approach
Strip out duplicated narrative and internal jargon, use consistent headings and instructions, and align templates with the information already held on the central digital platform. Where councils collaborate regionally, explore common low-risk documents so suppliers do not face materially different processes for similar work.
Why it is worth doing
Standardisation reduces preparation time for officers and suppliers and helps small organisations build familiarity without needing specialist bid expertise.
Useful output / evidence
Standard RFQ/ITT document family; consistent terminology and structure; reduced local variation and repeated document creation.
Domain source basis
The LGE survey identifies standard procurement documents as a priority and notes that every council following a different process is a barrier. The Procurement Act supplier guidance emphasises standardisation and streamlining. Regional consistency is a logical extension where councils share suppliers and similar below-threshold markets.
LGE guide: Appendix A, pp. 38-41; pp. 20-22. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers; Signed, sealed, delivered: How public procurement can unlock small business growth
Related Things That Matter
Rewrite routine contracts for clarity and balanceA27 Provide proportionate, plain-language terms that help the parties work successfully and are available before suppliers commit time to bidding.
Suggested approach
Create standard low-risk terms for common goods/services, written in accessible language and reviewed for unnecessary risk transfer. Issue draft terms with the RFQ/ITT. Use contract-design techniques to improve navigation and comprehension, and reserve bespoke legal drafting for genuinely higher-risk or unusual requirements.
Why it is worth doing
Unintelligible or highly defensive terms create legal cost, slow down award and can cause small or voluntary organisations to walk away.
Useful output / evidence
Plain-language routine contract terms; legal/procurement approval; supplier/user testing; reduced queries or legal interpretation effort.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide explicitly recommends standard, plain-language terms and conditions designed to make contracts work, not prepare for litigation. WorldCC provides relational contracting guidance and a Contract Design Pattern Library for clearer, more usable contracts. Treating contract usability as part of supplier accessibility links legal drafting directly to competition and outcome delivery.
LGE guide: “Risk aversion”, pp. 14-15; pp. 20-22 and 30-31. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Relational Contracting and Governance Guide; Contract Design Pattern Library / Market Insights
Related Things That Matter
Make social value proportionate and locally meaningfulA28 Design social-value expectations so that they reward relevant community benefit without creating a second bureaucracy that disadvantages smaller local organisations.
Suggested approach
Start with the actual local need and the subject of the contract. Test proposed social-value criteria with the market, avoid generic wish-lists and disproportionate reporting, and recognise where a local small/VCSE supplier’s normal delivery already creates community benefit. Consider the FSB proposal for simplified/full recognition of local small-business social value only as an option for legal and policy review, not an automatic rule.
Why it is worth doing
Small organisations can create substantial local value while having little capacity to package it into complex monetised claims. Poorly designed criteria can therefore reverse the inclusion the council is trying to achieve.
Useful output / evidence
Proportionate social-value approach and guidance; locally relevant outcomes; evidence that requirements do not create avoidable barriers for smaller organisations.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide argues for value beyond monetisation and cites FSB’s proposal for full social-value scores for smaller local firms. PPN 002 requires social-value outcomes and criteria to be relevant, proportionate and informed by market engagement. A locally tailored, evidence-based approach is more consistent with “maximising public benefit” than applying the same social-value demand to every contract.
LGE guide: “Achieving value beyond monetisation”, pp. 23-27; stakeholder actions, p. 30. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Signed, sealed, delivered: How public procurement can unlock small business growth; PPN 002: Taking account of social value in the award of contracts; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives
Related Things That Matter
Stop “make-up-the-numbers” biddingA29 Do not invite an organisation to quote merely to satisfy an internal competition rule when the council would not genuinely award to it.
Suggested approach
Challenge rules or habits that demand a fixed number of quotes regardless of market conditions. Where competition is required, seek genuine capable suppliers; where the market is thin or the requirement proprietary, use the appropriate lawful route and document the rationale. Tell invited suppliers enough to make an informed decision about participating.
Why it is worth doing
Unrealistic invitations waste supplier time, damage trust and teach local organisations that council opportunities are not worth pursuing.
Useful output / evidence
Revised competition/quotation guidance; exceptions/rationale process for thin or proprietary markets; reduction in token invitations used only to satisfy internal rules.
Domain source basis
“Only ask us to quote if you are prepared to award us a contract” is a prominent supplier improvement request in the LGE survey and appears in the guide’s recommended stakeholder actions. Reforming the underlying quote-count rule belongs with the CSO review rather than relying on officers to work around it informally.
LGE guide: “Processes”, pp. 15-16; pp. 20-22; Appendix A, pp. 38-41. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition)
Related Things That Matter
4Making day-to-day trading and delivery work
Simplify supplier onboarding, ordering and invoicingA30 Map the end-to-end low-value transaction and remove steps whose administrative cost and delay exceed the control or value they add.
Suggested approach
Review supplier setup, purchase-order creation, invoice requirements, approval routes and exception handling for routine low-risk spend. Reuse existing supplier data, automate simple checks where possible and provide clear instructions for getting paid first time. Consider the simplest compliant purchasing/payment mechanism available to the council rather than assuming one route fits every transaction.
Why it is worth doing
For small organisations, a £60 or £600 transaction can become uneconomic if it requires the same administrative machinery as a major contract; the council incurs the same waste.
Useful output / evidence
Mapped onboarding-to-payment process; removed/automated steps; shorter cycle times and fewer supplier queries or failed transactions.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide uses low-value transaction data to show that process cost can exceed transaction value and argues for more seamless trading systems. An end-to-end process map is a pragmatic way to find avoidable friction without requiring wholesale system replacement.
LGE guide: “Systems”, pp. 16-17. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers
Related Things That Matter
Monitor and improve prompt paymentA31 Treat prompt payment as a supplier-experience and resilience issue, not merely a contractual clause.
Suggested approach
Ensure 30-day terms are embedded and understood, monitor actual invoice performance, investigate recurring causes of delay and make supplier guidance clear about valid invoice requirements. Where practical, aim to pay small/local organisations faster than the statutory maximum and check that payment requirements flow through relevant supply chains.
Why it is worth doing
Cash flow is disproportionately important for small organisations. Reliable payment can make the council an attractive customer and reduce supplier risk without changing price.
Useful output / evidence
Prompt-payment performance measures; root-cause analysis of delays; improvement actions and supplier escalation route.
Domain source basis
The Procurement Act implies 30-day payment terms in public contracts and relevant subcontracts. The LGE guide recognises payment as important but stresses that it is only one part of the overall relationship. Using payment performance as an experience metric makes the legal minimum a platform for better commercial behaviour rather than the endpoint.
LGE guide: pp. 16-18 and Appendix A. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Prompt payment policy; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers
Related Things That Matter
Give useful feedback to biddersA32 Provide timely, specific feedback that helps unsuccessful suppliers understand the decision and improve future bids.
Suggested approach
Use the Procurement Act bid-assessment information as the minimum, but make feedback genuinely actionable: where possible explain strengths, material gaps and what made the winning response stronger, without disclosing confidential information. Keep the process proportionate for low-value competitions and make it easy for suppliers to ask a clarification question.
Why it is worth doing
Good feedback makes the time spent bidding less likely to feel wasted and helps capable new entrants improve. Poor or absent feedback reinforces the perception of a closed system.
Useful output / evidence
Consistent bidder-feedback format; timeliness standard; supplier feedback showing that explanations are specific and useful.
Domain source basis
Cabinet Office guidance explicitly identifies good-quality feedback as a way to reduce SME barriers and the Act requires bid assessments for final tenders. FSB’s 2025 report highlights the lack of comprehensive actionable feedback. A brief two-way debrief can also surface process problems that the council would otherwise never see.
LGE guide: “Perceptions”, pp. 12-13; “Measuring the outcomes”, pp. 34-36. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives; The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers; Signed, sealed, delivered: How public procurement can unlock small business growth
Related Things That Matter
Onboard around mutual expectationsA33 Start the working relationship with a shared understanding of outcomes, roles, contacts, payment, change and how problems will be handled.
Suggested approach
Hold a proportionate mobilisation conversation at award. Translate the contract into a short operational summary: what success looks like, who does what, where information sits, how invoices work, how changes are agreed and how concerns are escalated. Ensure the contract manager/owner is visible from the outset.
Why it is worth doing
Many contract problems start as misunderstandings rather than deliberate failure. Clear mutual expectations reduce avoidable friction and make a small supplier less dependent on informal contacts.
Useful output / evidence
Proportionate onboarding/kick-off record covering outcomes, roles, contacts, payment and change routes; shared expectations confirmed by both parties.
Domain source basis
The LGA councillor guide says contract owners and management teams should be in place, relationships should be built during procurement, and plans/roles should be clear. The LGE guide emphasises strong working relationships and communication. A concise operational summary is especially valuable where the legal contract is necessarily more detailed than day-to-day users need.
LGE guide: p. 22 and “People Value”, pp. 25-26. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); Relational Contracting and Governance Guide
Related Things That Matter
Manage the relationship, not just the contractA34 Use proportionate contract and relationship management to solve problems, maintain trust and keep attention on the outcomes the council is buying.
Suggested approach
For relevant contracts, establish a regular review rhythm that covers outcomes, service issues, risks, payment, forthcoming changes, opportunities to improve and the health of the working relationship. Scale the governance to the contract; a small local supplier should not face heavyweight review bureaucracy. Encourage constructive challenge on both sides.
Why it is worth doing
The LGE report says many of the things commissioners value after award are relational: responsiveness, approachability, flexibility and problem solving. Those qualities are not created by a contract file alone.
Useful output / evidence
Relationship/contract management plan proportionate to risk; regular outcome-focused reviews; issue log showing timely resolution and learning.
Domain source basis
The LGA NPS and councillor guide make contract and relationship management a core capability. WorldCC’s relational contracting guidance is designed to strengthen collaboration, accountability and long-term commercial performance. Explicitly reviewing relationship health keeps “soft” value visible alongside delivery KPIs.
LGE guide: p. 22; “People Value”, pp. 25-26. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); Relational Contracting and Governance Guide
Related Things That Matter
Give suppliers a route to propose improvementsA35 Create a normal, safe way for suppliers to suggest better methods, changes or innovations during delivery rather than waiting for the next procurement.
Suggested approach
Add a standing “improvements and changes” discussion to contract reviews where relevant. Define how proposals will be evaluated, how risks and benefits will be shared and how agreed changes will be documented. Be particularly open to small suppliers whose specialist knowledge or proximity to users may reveal practical improvements quickly.
Why it is worth doing
Supplier innovation is a stated benefit of SME participation, but it is wasted if the council’s relationship only asks whether the supplier is compliant with the original specification.
Useful output / evidence
Defined supplier-improvement/innovation route; proposals logged and considered; examples of adopted changes and resulting benefits.
Domain source basis
The LGA contract-management guidance calls for continuous improvement and the NPS promotes supplier innovation. MHCLG’s SME Action Plan says improved contract management should respond appropriately when suppliers propose changes. A regular route for improvement makes relational working observable and repeatable rather than dependent on individual chemistry.
LGE guide: “The commercial case”, pp. 24-26; p. 22. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028
Related Things That Matter
Run post-contract reviews and feed lessons forwardA36 Close contracts with a short, multi-perspective review of outcomes, supplier experience and what should change next time.
Suggested approach
At the end of relevant contracts, review whether intended outcomes and wider value were achieved, how the relationship worked, what caused avoidable effort or delay, and what the supplier would change about the council’s process. Feed agreed lessons into specifications, templates, CSOs, market engagement and future contract management. Keep reviews proportionate to value and risk.
Why it is worth doing
Without a deliberate close-out, organisations repeat the same procurement and relationship problems because the people starting the next cycle never see what happened after award.
Useful output / evidence
Post-contract review record; lessons and supplier perspective captured; evidence that lessons have been carried into subsequent specifications, templates or management.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide recommends mandatory post-contract review. The LGA councillor guide calls for debriefing and review at the end of contract relationships; the 2026 LGA diagnostic shows post-contract review is one of the weakest areas, especially in smaller councils. Including the supplier’s view turns the review into a learning mechanism rather than an internal compliance exercise.
LGE guide: pp. 25-27. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition); National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report)
Related Things That Matter
5Learning, evidence and sustained improvement
Measure experience as well as spendA37 Track whether local organisations experience the council differently, not just whether more money is being spent with them.
Suggested approach
Use a small balanced set of measures: local/SME/VCSE awards by number and value, participation and drop-out, supplier perceptions, feedback quality, payment performance, process cycle times and selected diagnostic themes. Where useful, track “don’t know” or high-variance responses as indicators of weak organisational visibility/alignment. Avoid turning every action into a KPI.
Why it is worth doing
Spend can rise without barriers being removed, while better experience can precede spend changes. Measuring both helps the council understand whether behaviour and outcomes are moving together.
Useful output / evidence
Balanced performance dashboard covering spend, participation, supplier experience and selected diagnostic/alignment measures; trend and variance analysis.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide proposes external and internal measures including contracts awarded, participation and how local organisations view the council. MHCLG monitors SME spend; the LGA diagnostic measures maturity and variation. Combining outcome, experience and alignment evidence provides a stronger business case than any single metric.
LGE guide: “Measuring the outcomes”, pp. 34-36. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028; National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report)
Related Things That Matter
Reassess, communicate and sustain the changeA38 Repeat the assessment after a meaningful period, show what has changed and use the next cycle to refresh priorities rather than letting the initiative fade.
Suggested approach
Re-run the diagnostic after agreed actions have had time to take effect, compare results by respondent group, review comments and identify persistent disagreement or new issues. Report the story of change to senior leaders, members and participating suppliers, including what has not improved. Refresh the action plan and share useful practice through regional or peer networks.
Why it is worth doing
Visible evidence of movement reinforces willingness and turns a one-off initiative into continuous improvement. It also helps leaders judge whether changes in process are producing changes in lived experience.
Useful output / evidence
Repeat diagnostic and comparison report; communicated progress and unresolved issues; refreshed priorities and next-cycle improvement plan.
Domain source basis
The LGE guide calls for year-on-year measurement and reporting. The LGA repeatedly uses diagnostic reassessment and benchmarking, encourages local action plans, peer review and sharing of good practice. Repeating the same structured assessment creates a consistent line of sight from initial concerns to sustained improvement.
LGE guide: pp. 34-36. Relevant sources/tools: Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides; National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report); National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022 – Toolkit
Related Things That Matter
Source key
- Building a Local Business and Voluntary Sector Friendly Council – Best Practice Guides — Local Government East / SPS Consultancy Services Ltd, 31 May 2026.
- Bridges not barriers: Unlocking local procurement for small and micro businesses — Liz Barclay and Ken Cole; moderated by Adrian Furner, WorldCC, 2026.
- National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022 — Local Government Association, 30 August 2022.
- National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2022 – Toolkit — Local Government Association, 27 March 2023.
- A councillor’s guide to procurement (2025 edition) — Local Government Association, 3 March 2025.
- National procurement strategy: Delivering the ambition (third diagnostic report) — Local Government Association, 13 May 2026.
- Reserving competitions for below-threshold contracts — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, updated 16 February 2026.
- MHCLG small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2025 to 2028 — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 24 March 2026.
- Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives — Cabinet Office, updated 15 April 2026.
- Guidance: Conditions of Participation — Cabinet Office, updated 24 June 2026.
- Guidance: Preliminary Market Engagement — Cabinet Office, updated 13 July 2026.
- Guidance: Lots — Cabinet Office, updated 13 July 2026.
- The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers — Government Commercial Function / Cabinet Office, updated 23 June 2026.
- Prompt payment policy — GOV.UK / Cabinet Office, current guidance.
- PPN 002: Taking account of social value in the award of contracts — Cabinet Office, 5 March 2025.
- Signed, sealed, delivered: How public procurement can unlock small business growth — Federation of Small Businesses, 15 December 2025.
- Relational Contracting and Governance Guide — World Commerce & Contracting, 10 June 2024.
- Contract Design Pattern Library / Market Insights — World Commerce & Contracting, current resource listing 2026.
- Progressive procurement of goods and services — Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), current resource.
- Local Economy of the Future: A Business-led Plan for Thriving Communities — British Chambers of Commerce, 2023.
