Classes of Information

The Commissioner publishes information in line with the Specified Information Order within the Transparency page on this website.  We have a Retention Schedule which details the information which will be published and how long the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will retain it for.

Contracts over £10,000 and Invitations to Tender

The Commissioner is required to publish information regarding contracts over £10,000 and each invitation to tender which either the Commissioner or the Chief Constable is a party of.

Information relating to contracts can be viewed here on the BlueLight e-procurement hub (please note you will need to go to Contracts on menu bar & select Current, then filter for Cumbria Constabulary as the OPFCC is not separately identified) to view contracts register. To view information relating to the OPFCC and Cumbria Constabulary’s process for procurement please click here.

Further information on new tender opportunities for contracting authorities can be accessed via the Bluelight E-Tendering portal.

Copies of invitations to tender or contracts with a total value exceeding £10,000 are available to request, although they may be subject to the redaction of operationally or commercially sensitive information. Requests for such information will be considered on an individual basis and anyone wishing further information should contact the Commercial Solutions Department, Cumbria Constabulary by dialling 101 or writing to them at Commercial Solutions Department, Police Headquarters, Carleton Hall, Penrith, CA10 2AU.

Updates to Procurement Legislation

The Procurement Act 2023 comes into effect on Monday 28^th October 2024. This will replace the existing Procurement Legislation used within the OPFCC and Cumbria Constabulary, although the existing rules will continue to apply for contracts that are already in progress. The new act will revolutionise the way the public sector buys goods and services, bringing a range of benefits, including:

• Creating a simpler and more flexible commercial system that better meets our country’s needs while remaining compliant with our international obligations.
• Opening up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses and social enterprises so that they can compete for and win more public contracts.
• Taking tougher action on underperforming suppliers and excluding suppliers who pose unacceptable risks.
• Embedding transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle so that the spending of taxpayers’ money can be properly scrutinised.

Support to assist with the changes within the legislation are available via the Transforming Public Procurement landing page, found on the Government Commercial Function website. Further support for suppliers can also be found on the BlueLight Commercial | Procurement Act 2023 web resources.

Grants and Projects

Details of the grants and projects commissioned within the community can be found in our Funding section on this website.

Expenditure over £500

Cumbria Constabulary and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) are committed to transparency in all our dealings, including how and where tax payers’ money is spent. We believe that publication of this information will also improve value for money in the long term by allowing residents to challenge the Constabulary and the Authority on how it spends money.

The procurement of all goods and services are governed by our procurement policy, procedures and contract standing orders. Collectively these documents provide the rules that must be followed by our staff for any purchasing. They ensure that there is freedom of opportunity to trade with us as an organisation and that we are open and transparent in the way we do business. Our procurement policy and procedures support procurement activity which is compliant with relevant legislation, cost effective and delivers best value. This helps to ensure we achieve value for money – the right balance between quality, performance and price – when we buy goods and services. In doing so we ensure we make the best use of scarce public resources.

Detailed below is expenditure over £500.

This includes costs, supplier and transaction information and is published quarterly. Any sole trader or body acting in a business capacity in receipt of payments of at least £500 of public money should expect such payments to be transparent. These data sets also include grants to the voluntary community and social enterprise sector where they are over £500.

Information has only been excluded from publication where:

• disclosure of information would breach the Data Protection Act 1998
• the information relates to the protection of vulnerable adults or children
• the information is confidential or would attract an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act e.g. where disclosure could be prejudicial to the commercial interests of any person including the authority

Please note that due to the reconciliation of the accounts it may be more than a month from the end of the relevant quarter before this information is available to publish.

Information is published quarterly with the latest information towards the bottom of the page as it becomes available . Details are published in both .xls and csv format.

Transparency Reports 2024/25:

Q1 PDF CSV

To view past transparency reports, please visit the OPFCC Archive.