Thresholds matter more than most suppliers realise. Cross one and a contract has to be advertised on Find a Tender Service, minimum time periods kick in, and full evaluation rules apply. Fall below it and the rules are different — sometimes very different. If you're not monitoring the right portals for the right values, you're missing contracts.
The New Threshold Values
These came into force alongside the Procurement Act 2023 on 24 February 2025. They're set by international trade agreements (primarily the WTO Government Procurement Agreement) and revised periodically. Here are the current figures:
- •Central government goods and services: £139,688
- •Sub-central government (councils, NHS, etc.) goods and services: £214,904
- •Works contracts (all sectors): £5,372,609
- •Utilities goods and services: £429,809
- •Light touch regime (social, health, education services): £663,540
Who's Sub-Central?
Sub-central includes local authorities, NHS bodies, maintained schools, and most other public bodies that aren't central government departments. Most of the public sector spend relevant to SMEs sits here.
What Changes When a Contract Crosses a Threshold
Below-threshold contracts can be awarded with lighter-touch processes — shorter timescales, less formal advertising requirements, more discretion for buyers. Above-threshold, the full Procurement Act regime applies. That means:
- •The contract must be advertised on Find a Tender Service (FTS)
- •Minimum tender response periods apply — typically 25 days for Open Procedure
- •Selection criteria and award criteria must be published in the contract notice
- •Debrief rights apply
- •The standstill period applies before contract signature
Above the threshold, you have legal protections that don't exist below it. If a contracting authority runs a flawed above-threshold process, you have routes to challenge. Below-threshold, your options are much more limited.
The Light Touch Regime
The light touch regime applies to a defined list of service categories — mostly social care, health, education, and certain legal services. The threshold is £663,540. Above this value, contracts must be advertised on FTS, but some of the procedural requirements are lighter than the standard regime. If your business operates in these sectors, the light touch threshold is the one to know.
Below-Threshold: The Contracts Finder Requirement
Just because a contract falls below the FTS threshold doesn't mean it's invisible. Contracts worth £10,000 or more (£25,000 for central government) must be advertised on Contracts Finder. This is a separate, UK-only portal that covers the mid-market — contracts too small for FTS but still formally tendered.
Contracts Finder is where a lot of SME opportunity lives. A £150,000 IT services contract with a council doesn't need to go on FTS. It does need to go on Contracts Finder. If you're only monitoring FTS, you're missing a significant portion of the market.
The Practical Point: You Need Both Portals
The most common mistake suppliers make with threshold monitoring is treating FTS as the whole market. It isn't. A complete picture of public sector opportunity requires:
- 1.FTS — for above-threshold contracts that must be formally advertised nationally
- 2.Contracts Finder — for below-threshold contracts down to £10,000
- 3.Individual buyer portals — many councils, NHS trusts, and housing associations also advertise on their own procurement portals or regional systems like ProContract and Delta eSourcing
Monitoring all three manually isn't feasible at scale. This is why tools that aggregate across portals matter — you shouldn't have to check five different systems every morning to know what's been published overnight.
A Note on Contract Splitting
Contracting authorities are not allowed to split contracts artificially to avoid the thresholds. If a buyer awards five separate £100,000 contracts for what is clearly one programme of work, that's a rules breach. It's worth knowing — if you see a pattern of below-threshold awards that look like they should have been tendered, it's legitimate to raise a question.
The updated thresholds don't change the fundamental dynamics of public sector bidding. But knowing the numbers precisely — and knowing which portal applies at which value — is basic operational competence. Don't leave gaps in your monitoring because you're not sure where a contract should be advertised.