Public Contracts Scotland: how care providers find and bid for social care work
Public Contracts Scotland is the national portal where Scottish public bodies must advertise regulated procurements, which for goods and services means £50,000 or more. It covers every sector, so a care provider has to filter it: search by keyword, location and the health and social work CPV codes, then register free for email alerts. Most care bids are then submitted on PCS-Tender, the separate national eTendering system, and the notice tells you when that applies.
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What Public Contracts Scotland is
Public Contracts Scotland, usually shortened to PCS, is the single national advertising portal for Scottish public sector contracts. It launched in August 2008, and since 18 April 2016 every Scottish public body has been legally required to use it to advertise regulated procurements and their awards. Those thresholds, as the Scottish Government sets them out, are £50,000 or more for goods and services and £2 million or more for works. Many buyers also use it for Quick Quotes, direct requests for quotation on smaller, non regulated work. Access is free for suppliers, and you do not need an account to browse: the Search Notices area is open to anyone. Registration, which is also free, adds email alerts, document downloads, the ability to send responses and a list of the notices you have expressed interest in. For a care provider, the headline is that PCS is where Scottish council, health and social care partnership and national framework opportunities are advertised. Watching Contracts Finder or Find a Tender alone, which is the habit many English providers bring north, misses much of what Scottish buyers publish.
See also: care tenders in Scotland, the Find a Tender Service.
Why a care provider needs a filter, not a scroll
Public Contracts Scotland advertises everything from road schemes to IT, so care work is a small share of what appears. We checked the PCS open data feed for 1 to 28 September 2026: it published 91 contract notices, and only 10 carried a health and social work CPV code. Some of those 10 were GP practice contracts and occupational health. Scrolling the homepage is therefore a poor way to find care work. Use the Search Notices filters instead. You can filter by keyword, buyer name, notice type, location and category. Notice type separates current opportunities from future opportunities and contract results, and future opportunities are worth watching because they give warning of what is coming. Location splits Scotland into six areas, from Highlands and Islands to Scotland South, with a separate option for outside Scotland. Search in Scottish vocabulary as well as English. Renfrewshire's September 2026 notice was titled care at home and housing support, not domiciliary care or supported living, and a search built on English terms can miss it.
Read next: how to find care tenders.
Alerts and the CPV codes that catch care work
Registering free as a supplier on Public Contracts Scotland lets you receive regular email alerts of public sector opportunities, and the alerts are only as good as the categories you choose. Care services sit in the health and social work CPV family. The Scottish Government's Supplier Journey describes the range from 85000000 to 85323000 as covering health and social work services, and that is the family to select. In the September 2026 feed, the care notices used codes such as 85000000, 85310000 for social work services, 85312400 and 85312500 for welfare and rehabilitation services, and 85320000 for social services. Select the whole family, since buyers code the same kind of service differently, then narrow by location to the council areas you can actually staff. Pair the alert with a saved keyword search for care at home, housing support, supported living and the client groups you serve. If a notice looks relevant, register your interest in it, because PCS keeps a list of the notices you have expressed interest in so nothing slips off your radar.
Related: how care frameworks work.
What social care work looks like on PCS
Social care on Public Contracts Scotland is mostly council and partnership work, and much of it is framework or arrangement based. In September 2026 the feed carried Renfrewshire Council's first reopening of its flexible framework for care at home and housing support services, run for the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, with a closing date of 30 October 2026. South Lanarkshire Council published phase 13 of its adult supported living procured service arrangement, and Inverclyde Council tendered a mental health recovery service and a recovery service for alcohol and drugs. At national level, Scotland Excel runs a care and support flexible framework for care at home and supported living for people aged 16 and over, from 30 September 2024 to 29 September 2030. Scotland Excel says the framework admits new providers during the open period set in the agreement. A reopening is the pattern to watch for: a provider who misses the first round of a flexible framework can often still join it later.
See also: applying to a supported living framework, applying to a home care framework.
PCS-Tender: where the bid itself usually happens
Public Contracts Scotland is where you find an opportunity, and PCS-Tender is often where you respond to it. According to the Scottish Government, all opportunities are first advertised on PCS, and if the buyer is running the tender on PCS-Tender the notice will say so. All four care notices described above pointed bidders to PCS-Tender for electronic submission. PCS-Tender is the national eTendering system, centrally funded by the Scottish Government, and it needs its own supplier registration. Once registered you are sent a password by email, and you can then express interest in advertised tender exercises. Complete your supplier profile early, because PCS-Tender says the profile pre-populates tender responses where the buyer has used the standard questions, and the Scottish Government adds that suppliers can save and reuse responses. Keep the two helplines apart: Public Contracts Scotland technical support is 0800 222 9003, from 8.30am to 5pm, and the PCS-Tender supplier help desk is 0800 069 8630.
Read next: how to respond to a care tender.
The Single Procurement Document at selection stage
At selection stage, Scottish care tenders use the Single Procurement Document, known as the SPD. Scotland's Supplier Journey guidance describes it as a standard self declaration questionnaire used at the selection stage, so you do not normally send evidence up front, although the successful bidder is asked for it before award. It has three parts: bidder information, such as whether you are an SME or part of a group; exclusion questions, assessed pass or fail; and selection questions on technical and professional ability and financial standing, where the buyer may set minimum requirements such as insurance levels. In a one stage procedure the SPD is issued with the other documents and assessed pass or fail. In a two stage procedure it is issued alone and used to shortlist, and the technical section may be scored. If you rely on a partner or subcontractor to meet the criteria, each of them completes a separate SPD. Answer truthfully, and ask the buyer if a requirement is unclear.
Related: selection questionnaires in England compared, bidding as a consortium or with subcontractors.
Reserved contracts and other Scotland specific pitfalls
Read the contract notice for eligibility before you write anything, because some Scottish care contracts are reserved. The Supplier Journey explains that a buyer can reserve a contract, framework or lot for certain health and social care services to qualifying organisations, which include charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and registered social landlords, with the full definition set out in regulations. A reservation must be stated in the notice, and bidders should be ready to evidence that they qualify. The other common mistakes are about fit. The regulator is the Care Inspectorate, which registers care services in Scotland and grades them, so a bid that cites CQC ratings tells the evaluator it was written for England. Scottish terms such as care at home, housing support and health and social care partnership should run through the response. And do not wait for the PCS-Tender deadline to register: sign up to both systems before you need them. If you are not sure a Scottish notice suits you, our eligibility check is free.
See also: the free eligibility check, Care Inspectorate grades and Scottish frameworks.
Primary sources: Public Contracts Scotland (publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk); Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (legislation.gov.uk).
Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender side by side
Two national systems, two registrations. This is how they divide the work on a Scottish care tender.
| Public Contracts Scotland | PCS-Tender | |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Advertises opportunities and awards | Runs the tender and receives responses |
| Needed to | Find notices, get alerts, express interest | Download ITT documents and submit your bid |
| Account | Free; browsing needs no account | Free, separate supplier registration |
| Useful feature | Filters by keyword, notice type, location and CPV | Supplier profile pre-populates standard questions |
| Support line | 0800 222 9003, 8.30am to 5pm | 0800 069 8630 |
Not sure if you qualify for a tender? We check it for free, before you pay anything, and we only take bids we believe you can win. See our supported living tender writing or text TENDER to get started.
Common questions
Is Public Contracts Scotland free for care providers?
Yes. Registration as a supplier is free and gives you email alerts, document downloads and the ability to send responses. You can also browse notices without an account. PCS-Tender registration is free as well.
What is the difference between Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender?
Public Contracts Scotland advertises the opportunity. PCS-Tender is the national eTendering system where many buyers run the tender and take responses. The notice on PCS tells you if you must respond on PCS-Tender, and each system needs its own registration.
Which CPV codes should a care provider choose on PCS?
Select the health and social work family, which the Supplier Journey describes as 85000000 to 85323000. Care notices in September 2026 used codes such as 85000000, 85310000 and 85320000. Pair the alert with keyword searches, because coding varies.
Can a private care company bid for a reserved contract?
Only if it meets the qualifying organisation definition in the regulations, which covers bodies such as charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and registered social landlords. The notice must say a contract is reserved, so check it before you start writing.
Do Scottish care tenders use the CQC?
No. Care services in Scotland register with the Care Inspectorate, which inspects and grades them. Refer to your Care Inspectorate registration and grades, not CQC ratings, in any Scottish bid.
How much does it cost to have a Scottish care tender written?
Your first tender is £795. We only take bids we believe you can win. Our win rate is 96 percent, substantiated by our internal tracker. We start with a free eligibility check, so you only commit once we have confirmed the Public Contracts Scotland opportunity fits your registration and area.
Got a tender to check?
Text TENDER to +44 7822 030677and we'll tell you free whether you'd qualify, before you spend a penny.