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Half of MoD Contracts Went Non-Competitive but Who’s Really Winning?
Discover where public sector money is flowing, who’s winning, and how SMEs can stay competitive.
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Looking at the latest MOD figures for 2024/25, £20.9bn in new contracts were awarded but half went out non-competitively, the highest level since 2015/16. What concerns me is that SMEs now take just 23% of new contracts, raising questions about how inclusive these opportunities really are.
🔍 Today’s Focus:
Daily Spend Watch: Defence contracts led early September, with 105 awards, top value £17M. The MoD is investing heavily in IT, engineering, and military equipment across hubs in London, Nottingham, and Milton Keynes.
International View: Belgium’s public sector issued 172 contracts worth £187M, covering construction, consultancy, IT, and engineering. Brussels, Liège, Mechelen, and Antwerp were the busiest hotspots.
Opportunity Picks: Big wins are up for grabs from Salford’s £500k property surveys to Westminster’s £4M maintenance programme and Scotland’s drainage framework. Smart planning and strong methodology matter more than ever.
News: Digital ID goes national, NHS ramps up AI regulation, and the UN warns of AI security risks.
Technology: Tools like Ambient, Doraverse, and Oreate AI are helping teams save time, streamline tasks, and stay ahead in a fast-moving public sector.
DAILY SPEND WATCH
Defence Contracts | 1–26 Sept 2025
💰 Big Numbers: 105 contracts recorded. Highest disclosed award topped £17m.
🏛️ Who’s spending: The MoD dominated activity, with hubs in London, Nottingham, and Milton Keynes.
⚔️ Top focus: Awards concentrated on military equipment, IT, and engineering services, showing steady demand for both hardware and digital support.
📍 Regional insights: London led for contract volume, but activity spread across MoD bases.
🔑 Key players: Mix of major primes and SMEs securing work in IT, consultancy, and specialist kit.
🔍 Your move: Target MoD frameworks, subcontract on big programmes, and watch defence IT, cyber and digital support are on the rise.
INTERNATIONAL VIEW
PROCUREMENT PULSE: Belgium | Sept 1 – Sept 26, 2025
💰 Contract volume and value surge: A total of 172 contracts were published, collectively worth at least £187m, with the largest single award reaching £27m.
🏛️ Diverse top buyers: Leading spenders include Infrabel NV (rail infrastructure), Université Catholique de Louvain, and Stad Mechelen, highlighting a balance between infrastructure projects and academic procurement.
🏗️ Sector focus spans hard and knowledge infrastructure: Construction (codes 4523, 4511), consultancy (7941), engineering (7131), and IT services (7222) dominated awards, underscoring wide-ranging public sector investment.
📍 Urban and academic hotspots: Brussels led contract activity, followed by Liège, Mechelen, and Antwerp, with procurement concentrated around major cities and universities.
🔑 Key suppliers and opportunities: Major repeat winners include EVOLTA Engineers and Jansen–Wijsmuller & Beuns BV, yet contracts were broadly distributed among SMEs and international firms, particularly strong prospects exist in civil works and university research procurement.
OPPORTUNITY PICKS
Salford City Council is seeking a single provider for Building & M&E Condition Surveys, Measured Surveys, and Reinstatement Cost Assessments. The £500k contract (ex. VAT) runs for up to 6 years and closes October 24, 2025 with an Electronic Auction required.
Winning Strategy: With Quality (45%) and Social Value (15%) outweighing Price (40%), success means more than surveys. Show how your data supports 5, 10, and 30-year investment planning, ensure a consistent methodology, and deliver a Social Value plan that makes a real impact in Salford.
Westminster City Council is seeking a comprehensive service for repairs, maintenance, and compliance for its temporary accommodation properties, with an estimated total value of £4,000,000 (excluding VAT) over an initial 3 years with a possible 2-year extension.
Winning Strategy: leverage the Preliminary Market Engagement by providing a strategic, technology-driven solution. Your focus should be on completing the Soft Market Testing Questionnaire. Use this opportunity to propose a Digital Compliance and Resident Portal that offers the Council real-time, auditable proof of legal compliance and enhances the resident experience.
Hillcrest is procuring contractors for a multi-lot Drainage Framework covering cleaning and maintenance across five regions of Scotland. The contract is worth £400k (ex. VAT), runs for 36 months with a possible 1-year extension, and closes on October 27, 2025 via Open Procedure.
Winning Strategy: Lead with technical strength. Your bid must showcase a robust out-of-hours/emergency service plan, guaranteeing 4-hour attendance in your Lot area. Back this with proven expertise in CCTV surveying and repairs, and ensure clear delivery of the required Community Benefits.
Navigate Public Sector with Ease
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NEWS
A new national Digital ID scheme is coming, and it'll be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of the Parliament. I think this is a huge relief for compliance teams. The goal? Combat illegal working, sure, but also to make services like driving licenses and welfare easier for us to access. It’s going to live right on your phone, just like the NHS App, so you can ditch the endless paper trails. Good news, right?
If you're in health tech, listen up: The NHS just launched a National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare. This is them saying, "We're serious about AI, and we're writing a new rulebook to speed things up". They're immediately reviewing tech held back by confusion, like AI assistants for doctors. It’s a clear signal that the UK wants to be a global leader, which means huge, clearer opportunities for you.
The UK told the UN that the growth of AI is like a "lightning strike of change" that poses massive security risks. I found that worrying. The concerns are real: AI-enabled chemical weapons, rampant disinformation, and the risk of miscalculation in conflict. For public sector suppliers, the message is clear: the focus on "safeguards and guardrails" is urgent. Are your current contracts addressing this next-level security challenge?
TECHNOLOGY
Ambient: Tired of endless meeting prep? Ambient is your shortcut. It promises to replace an hour of prep with a five-minute Daily Briefing. Crucially, it's SOC 2 certified and won't train models on your data, so your sensitive info is secure. Smart. 🧠
Doraverse: Stop app-hopping. Doraverse is the all-in-one AI co-worker that integrates over 15 tools into one subscription. Teams report saving time and seeing tasks completed 3x faster. It’s built to save you at least one day per week.
Oreate AI: Need a research paper or professional presentation fast? Oreate AI generates high-quality, long-form content, essays, and presentations from a simple prompt. It's a massive time-saver for documentation, offering an AI Humanize feature to ensure your text sounds natural, and provides reliable citations. ✍️
TIP OF THE DAY
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