If you are a supplier, business, voluntary organisation or community group that shares a commitment to Wigan Borough, we welcome the opportunity to work with you to build community wealth and deliver meaningful social value through our contracts and partnerships. Through fair, transparent and inclusive procurement processes, we aim to increase local investment, create opportunities for residents, and support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), voluntary and community organisations, and the wider third sector.
Wigan Council has produced a document Community Wealth and Health Building Through Social Value and Beyond: Progress with Unity which details our approach to using social value and community wealth building to create fair opportunities, reduce inequalities, and improve health, economic and social outcomes across the borough. It explains how businesses, suppliers and community organisations can work in partnership with the council to deliver local jobs, skills, investment and sustainable benefits that strengthen communities and support the borough’s Progress with Unity ambitions.
We advertise business opportunities for suppliers to bid for through competitive tendering via the following:
- The Chest (external link) - The primary portal we use to advertise new tenders and for suppliers to submit bids for our tender opportunities. You will find full details of how to register, login, and manage your account on the website. The site is also used by other public sector bodies across North West England.
Visit our page on the Procurement Act 2023 regulations and guidance for suppliers on signing up to the Central Digital Platform.
We also advertise business opportunities on the following sites:
Here are some procurement websites that may assist businesses to win public sector contracts across the UK and with partner organisations:
- Government Commercial Agency (GCA) (external link) - Advertises nationally available framework and contract opportunities
- EU Supply (external link) - Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) use EU Supply via NHS Shared Business Services as their tendering portal. The portal contains links to the supplier registration page and the opportunities page, not just for WWL but all available tenders via the portal
- NHS Supply Chain (external link) - For NHS Supply Chain the link provides potential suppliers with all of the information to bid National Frameworks
- Multiquote (external link) - Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) also use a system called Multiquote for low value quotations.
Social Value - Match My Project
We want to develop a strong partnership with suppliers, businesses, social enterprises, and community and voluntary groups who share our values, invest in Wigan Borough, and have an absolute commitment to delivering a high standard of work. We want suppliers to provide supportive employment, strive for continuous improvement, and carry out ethical business practices within the law; these are minimum expectations. We expect suppliers to invest in our place in return for public money; to make and fulfil social value commitments, and work with our communities and neighbourhoods to understand what’s important to them.
Match My Project (external link) is a meeting point for the business and community sector, where community organisations can get help for their projects from businesses working in Wigan Borough. We encourage all suppliers to register on the platform and look for matches they are able to support. This provides ready opportunities to demonstrate a commitment to social value.
Commissioning intentions
The commissioning intentions are a published procurement pipeline that contains details of contracts expected to be re-procured and new procurement projects that are expected to be undertaken.
Please bear in mind the following:
- The likelihood of being re-procured or timescale for re-procurement may change from this forecast
- For opportunities with a whole life value under £75,000, we may invite quotes from a limited number of suppliers
- For all opportunities, you will need to register on the council's tendering website portal, The Chest (external link)
- Whether or not to use a framework is made on a case-by-case basis at the start of the re-tendering process
- We make use of framework agreements where appropriate, as these are a cost-effective route to procure goods and services in common use
- Framework agreements are tendered by other organisations such as Government Commercial Agency or YPO
- Our commissioning intentions/procurement pipeline will include contracts to be considered to be renewable and will be updated on an annual basis.
Note that we are now expected to ensure that suppliers to the council comply with equality and diversity legislation.
We are committed to the highest standards of openness and accountability.
Our Whistleblowing Policy allows employees and staff within contracting organisations to raise any concerns they have without fear of reprisals. If you have concerns about our work, please contact us.