Contracts and Spending
Classes of Information
The Commissioner publishes information in line with the Specified Information Order within the Transparency page on this website for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria (PFCC) and on our performance and transparency for Cumbria Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority (CCFRA). We have a Retention Schedule which details the information which will be published and how long the PFCC will retain it for.
The Commissioner's Terms and Conditions
Purchase Orders Terms and Conditions for both the PFCC and CCFRA:
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 that the Commissioner (PFCC and CCFRA) or the Chief Constable or Cumbria Fire adn Rescue Service 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 The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria or Cumbria Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority to view contracts register.
To view information relating to the PFCC, CCFRA and Cumbria Constabulary’s process for procurement please click here.
We are migrating to a new e-Tendering system
For tender opportunities - register FREE on Welcome to the National BlueLight E‑Commercial Portal
Supplier User Guide to register available here Registering with a Supplier Portal – Suppliers This page contains details on how to register, how to join an existing company registration and how to merge duplicates. The Supplier portal is unique to the National BlueLight E‑Commercial Portal, so if you have an existing account with Atamis with another portal – you will need to register again.
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 came into force on Monday 24th February 2025. This will replace the existing Procurement Legislation used within the PFCC, CCFRA and Cumbria Constabulary, although the previous rules will continue to apply for contracts that were already in place or in progress prior to the legislation change. 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.
With effect from 1st April 2026 the government requires all suppliers to the public sector who are awarded a Below-Threshold contract also have to register on the Central Digital Platform and obtain a ‘unique identifier’ as part of the contract award process.
Please register using the above link as this will be required during the tender process and award for above Threshold Public Contracts and contract award for Below-Threshold contracts.
Grants and Projects
Details of the PFCC grants and projects commissioned within the community can be found in our Funding section on this website.
Expenditure over £500
The Commissioner PFCC and CCFRA 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 Commissioner 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 2018 and UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations)
- 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 for the PFCC 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
Transparency Reports 2025/26:
2025/26 September - November PDF CSV
2025/26 July August & December PDF CSV
To view past transparency reports, please visit the OPFCC Archive and to view Transparency for CCFRA visit our performance and transparency page on the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service website.