What is Purdah?

With the local elections coming up soon (May 5th 2022), any council that has elections is currently in Purdah. This is the term used to describe the time from when the election was announced officially (21st March 2022) to when the election is held and polls are closed. During this time, councils and other related government bodies are limited as to what they can and cannot do.

During this time, no decsions which could influence or prejudice the outcome of the election are allowed to take place. This includes launching new procurements, confirming preferred bidders in procurement processes, or signing signficant contracts. This severely impacts the amount of bids that are live during this period.

Added to the above, during Purdah we have had the start of a new tax year and the Easter Holidays; a perfect storm of bid-limiting events. This should all change post-election though, so expect to see lots of new of opportunites come out the week after the elections.