Two official England portals with similar names: no wonder training and L&D providers get confused. This guide explains what Contracts Finder and Find a Tender each do, where a council or NHS training contract will appear, and which thresholds decide it.
The short version: Find a Tender is where new procurements are published, and Contracts Finder holds historic notices and procurements that started under the old rules. For most training providers looking for council tenders and NHS work today, Find a Tender comes first and Contracts Finder second.
At a glance
- Find a Tender is the central platform under the Procurement Act 2023; Contracts Finder is the older England portal it has replaced for new procurements.
- The split is mostly about timing: procurements started on or after 24 February 2025 publish on Find a Tender.
- Training services are "light touch" services, so the above-threshold figure for a training contract is £663,540 (including VAT, from 1 January 2026), not the lower goods and services figures.
- Below threshold, a buyer that chooses to advertise must publish on Find a Tender first, for contracts from £12,000 (central government, including NHS trusts) or £30,000 (councils and other authorities).
- Call-offs from frameworks and DPSs are competed among the providers already appointed and do not need a public tender notice.
Why there are two portals
Before the Procurement Act 2023, Contracts Finder was the main England portal for lower-value contracts and Find a Tender handled higher-value notices. The Act, live from 24 February 2025, moved publishing onto an enhanced Find a Tender. The simplest rule is about when the procurement started:
- Started on or after 24 February 2025: notices publish on Find a Tender.
- Started before that date, under the old rules: below-threshold notices may still sit on Contracts Finder.
Under the Act, below-threshold tender notices and contract details notices must be published on the central digital platform first. That replaces the old requirement to publish them on Contracts Finder, so new below-threshold notices no longer start there. Contracts Finder has not switched off: it holds historic notices and older procurements, and Find a Tender's homepage still points to it for those.
The thresholds that decide things
Procurement law uses contract value, including VAT, to decide which rules apply. From 1 January 2026:
| Contract type | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Goods and services, central government | £135,018 |
| Goods and services, sub-central authorities | £207,720 |
| Light touch contracts (includes training services) | £663,540 |
| Works | £5,193,000 |
The light touch row is the one that matters to you. The Procurement Regulations 2024 list the training codes, including 80500000 Training services and 80532000 Management training services, as light touch services. A contract mainly for training is therefore above threshold only from £663,540. A single course or programme will often sit below that, in the below-threshold rules.
Below-threshold publication floors
Below threshold, a buyer does not have to advertise at all. If it does advertise a contract above these values, it must publish a below-threshold tender notice on Find a Tender before publishing anywhere else:
- Central government: £12,000
- Other contracting authorities (councils, combined authorities and so on): £30,000
NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts count as central government, so their floor is £12,000, not £30,000. (See NHS tenders for training providers.)
What that looks like for council and NHS training
- A district council advertises a £45,000 management development programme. It is above the £30,000 floor for local authority tenders, so the notice goes on Find a Tender.
- An NHS trust advertises £18,000 of conflict resolution training. It is above the NHS floor of £12,000, so it goes on Find a Tender too.
- A county council runs a further competition for a leadership cohort among the providers on its training framework. No public tender notice is needed, so you will see nothing unless you are on that framework.
- A council procurement for a coaching programme that started in 2024 under the old rules may still be found on Contracts Finder.
The third case is why watching portals is only half the job: much council training is called off from a framework or DPS and never appears as an open competition. Our guide to training tenders in the UK and the frameworks page explain how to get onto those lists.
So which should you use?
- Search Find a Tender first. It is where current opportunities live.
- Check Contracts Finder too while procurements under the old rules run their course.
- Set saved searches with alerts on both. Assuming one portal covers everything is the easiest way to miss relevant training work.
For the full picture of every UK portal, see where to find UK tenders.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Contracts Finder and Find a Tender?
Find a Tender is the central platform under the Procurement Act 2023 and carries new procurements. Contracts Finder is the older England portal, now used mainly for procurements that started before 24 February 2025.
What is the threshold for a training contract?
Training services are light touch services, so from 1 January 2026 a training contract is above threshold from £663,540 including VAT. Below that, the below-threshold rules apply.
What is the minimum value that must be advertised on Find a Tender?
Buyers are not obliged to advertise below threshold. If they choose to, contracts from £12,000 (central government, including NHS trusts) or £30,000 (councils and other authorities) must go on Find a Tender first.
Is Contracts Finder closing?
It has been replaced for new procurements but stays live for older ones. We have not seen a published closure date.
Where do I find council tenders for training?
New local authority tenders are on Find a Tender. Many councils also buy training through frameworks and DPSs, so watch for those opening as well as for individual tenders.
Sources
- GOV.UK — PPN 023: 2026 threshold amounts
- GOV.UK — Guidance: thresholds
- GOV.UK — Guidance: below-threshold contracts
- legislation.gov.uk — The Procurement Regulations 2024, Schedule 1: light touch services
- Find a Tender — Home: about Find a Tender
- Contracts Finder — Find a contract