Support for growing the local social economy, including community businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises.

About the buyer

Bedford Borough Council is a local authority serving the borough of Bedford, with procurement split between individual service departments and a central Commercial Hub team. Service departments handle day-to-day tenders, quotations and sourcing for their own areas. Every opportunity is advertised through In-Tend, the council's e-tendering portal, where supplier registration is free. Higher-value contracts also appear on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. The Commercial Hub team manages a number of corporate contracts and looks for savings across departments. That same portal doubles as a contract register, tracking expiry dates and scheduled reviews for live agreements.

UK local government drives £140bn in annual procurement, led by social protection (£66.6bn) and education (£57.1bn).

Over the past 5 years, most of Bedford Borough Council's contract awards have been in health and social work, business services and construction work.