Government Departments: Procurement
The question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122723 on Inter Mediate: Contracts, whether his Department has provided guidance on (a) the difference between (i) commercial contracts and (ii) grants and (b) how procurement of goods and services between the Government and external organisations should be (A) published and (B) recorded.
Answered by Chris Ward
Information on Government procurement opportunities and contracts entered into is published on the Find a Tender Service. https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk
While we have not published information on the difference between grants and contracts, we do provide written guidance on alternative mechanisms to general grants (including contracts), on our internal centre of excellence repository.
The Procurement Act 2023 established a clear set of transparency requirements and processes, with key obligations on contracting authorities to publish information across the procurement lifecycle. This is delivered by the new central digital platform, creating an open and transparent system which improves accessibility to procurement data, enabling the public and stakeholders to scrutinise spending decisions and track procurement outcomes.
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