How Adult Social Care Providers Register for the New Central Supplier Platform (2025–2026 Tenders): Step-by-Step Guide

December 6, 2025

From early 2025, providers bidding for council, NHS and ICB-commissioned services will need to register once on a new central digital supplier platform introduced under the Procurement Act 2023. Instead of repeating the same organisational information for every tender, you create a single supplier record and then use a Supplier ID or certificate when you bid.

As we move into 2026, this is shifting from something “new” to the expected standard. Providers who have not yet registered risk being locked out of frameworks and major recommissioning rounds.

This practical guide explains how adult social care and supported living providers can get ready, what the new Supplier ID is, and the steps you’ll need to complete on the central platform.

🔍 What is the new Central Supplier Registration Platform?

The Procurement Act 2023 introduces a single UK-wide registration system—often described as the “central digital platform” or central supplier registration.

Instead of completing a full Selection Questionnaire (SQ) for every tender, providers will:

Register once on the central platform
Upload core compliance and due-diligence documents
Receive a unique Supplier ID or certificate
Quote this ID when responding to tenders and frameworks

You will still answer quality and service-specific questions for each procurement, but the core organisational checks are pulled from your central registration.

📅 Timeline – What changes when?

Early 2025: Central digital platform opens for supplier registration.
During 2025: Increasing numbers of councils and ICBs begin asking for a Supplier ID as part of tender submissions.
From 2026 onwards: Use of the central platform becomes the default route for public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023.

In practical terms, this means that by the time the main wave of 2026–2028 recommissioning hits, most adult social care tenders will be based on central registration.

🧾 Step-by-Step: How to Register on the Central Platform

The exact user interface will be confirmed by the Cabinet Office, but the underlying requirements are already clear. You can prepare most of what you need now, even before the platform is fully live.

1️⃣ Create your organisation account

You will register through the new central digital supplier platform managed by the UK Government. Formal launch details and links will be published here:

Procurement Act 2023 – implementation guidence & documents

Make sure someone senior in your organisation (or your bid/commercial lead) is subscribed to updates and knows when registration opens.

2️⃣ Enter your core organisation details

You will need to provide (and keep updated):

Legal entity name
Companies House number (if applicable)
Registered address and trading address(es)
VAT number (if applicable)
Key contact details (commercial / tender contact)

3️⃣ Upload your compliance documents

The central platform will take over much of what currently sits in the Selection Questionnaire (SQ). This means you should expect to upload digital copies of:

Latest insurance certificates (Employer’s Liability, Public Liability, and Professional Indemnity where relevant)
Safeguarding policies (adults and, where relevant, children)
Health & Safety policy and risk management approach
Business continuity and contingency plans
Data protection / UK GDPR documentation, including any DPIAs where relevant
Modern Slavery Statement (if required by turnover)
Financial accounts (typically last 2 years where available)

Most of these will feel familiar: they mirror the existing SQ template that many councils and NHS bodies already use.

4️⃣ Complete standard declarations

Alongside document uploads, you will self-declare that your organisation meets the usual “good standing” criteria. This is likely to include declarations around:

Mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds (e.g. certain criminal offences, tax issues)
Compliance with health and safety law
Compliance with the Equality Act 2010
For adult social care providers, alignment with Care Act 2014 duties and CQC registration (where applicable)

5️⃣ Receive your Supplier ID or certificate

Once registration is complete and your information is validated, the platform will issue a unique Supplier ID (or equivalent reference/certificate). When you bid, the authority will use this ID to pull your organisational data directly from the central system.

Tender documents may include wording such as:

“Suppliers must be registered on the central digital platform and provide their Supplier ID as part of their tender response.”

6️⃣ Keep your registration up to date

Your registration is not “one and done”. If key documents expire or your status changes, you will need to update the platform. Typical triggers include:

Insurance renewal dates
Changes in CQC registration or rating
Changes in legal entity or company structure
Major changes in safeguarding, H&S or other core policies

If your record is out of date, your Supplier ID could be treated as non-compliant for new tenders, even if you try to submit a bid.

🏁 What this means for adult social care providers

1. Front-loaded effort, then faster bidding

The biggest workload is in the initial registration: gathering documents, checking policies and completing declarations. Once that’s done, each tender becomes quicker because you no longer repeat the same organisational content.

2. New and smaller providers will need support

For providers who are new to tendering, the central platform can feel like a barrier if they are unprepared: no policies, out-of-date insurance or incomplete accounts will all cause problems.

It’s important to recognise that from 2025 onwards, “we haven’t got round to that yet” is likely to mean “we can’t bid for this opportunity”.

3. Quality answers will matter more than ever

Because the compliance and due-diligence side is handled centrally, local authorities and ICBs will have more space to focus tender scoring on:

Service model and outcomes
Strength of PBS and complex needs capability
Workforce recruitment, retention and training
Transition, step-down and progression pathways

In other words, central registration clears the ground so commissioners can pay closer attention to how you deliver outcomes, not just whether you’ve uploaded the right certificates.

🚀 How to prepare before you register (late 2025 and into 2026)

If you are reading this in late 2025 or early 2026, the best use of time is to get your organisation “registration ready”. That means:

Completing a quick internal tender readiness audit
Making sure all core policies are reviewed, signed and clearly version-controlled
Checking your insurance levels match market expectations for LD, autism and complex care
Ensuring CQC registration and statement of purpose are fully consistent with what you say in tenders
Preparing a short, clear organisational overview that can sit alongside your Supplier ID in tender responses

Providers who do this early will move smoothly into the Procurement Act 2023 regime. Those who leave it until the last minute may find that the 2026–2027 recommissioning wave passes them by.

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