Security services
Security tenders: guarding, CCTV & patrol contracts
Manned guarding, CCTV and monitoring, mobile patrols and access control are bought constantly by councils, NHS trusts, schools and blue-light bodies, scored to your business.
43
live security tenders now
£4.3bn+
stated value tracked
2
smaller / council-portal
The opportunity
Public bodies are among the steadiest buyers of security services in the country. Councils, NHS trusts, universities, housing providers and cultural venues all need manned guarding, concierge and reception cover, CCTV installation and monitoring, alarm response, mobile patrols and event security, and most of it is bought competitively on multi-year terms. For an SME security firm this is creditworthy, recurring work that rewards a strong local presence and a properly licensed, well-managed workforce.
The challenge is rarely a shortage of opportunity but visibility and bid quality. Relevant notices are spread across the national portals and dozens of council quote systems, and buyers increasingly weight social value, the real Living Wage, SIA licensing and TUPE handling alongside price. Knowing which framework or one-off tender to chase, and writing a mobilisation and quality response that answers what the evaluator scores, is what separates firms that win regularly from those that bid blind.
Last reviewed 5 July 2026 by the BidSquirrel procurement team.
Who buys in this sector
Contracts we surface for you
Manned guarding and concierge
Static officers, reception and concierge cover for buildings, estates and campuses, usually on three to five year terms with TUPE in play.
CCTV, monitoring and control rooms
Installation, maintenance and 24/7 monitoring of CCTV and alarm systems, sometimes bundled with a wider technology or FM contract.
Mobile patrols and key holding
Scheduled and reactive patrols, alarm response and key holding across multiple sites, a common entry point for smaller regional firms.
Event and stewarding services
Crowd management, stewarding and security for civic events, venues and visitor attractions, often called off frameworks at short notice.
Access control and systems
Door entry, gates, barriers and integrated access systems, frequently tendered alongside CCTV or as part of building works.
Low-value council quotes
Lower-value guarding, patrol and small-system work bought by direct quotation through council portals such as ProContract.
Frameworks & buying organisations to know
A lot of recurring security services work is called off through national and regional frameworks and dynamic markets. Getting onto the right ones - alongside bidding for open tenders - is often how an SME builds a steady public-sector pipeline. The bodies worth knowing here:
We watch CPV 7971 (security services) and 35120 (surveillance & security systems) so security services notices reach you across every source - not just one portal.
Security tenders open right now
We are tracking 43 open security services tenders across every major GB source as of today. A sample of the most recently published matched to this sector:
- Security Services for YMCA London City & North
YMCA London City and North · £618,000 · closes 11 Sept · Find a Tender
Strong fit · 8/10Example score - once we know your business, work like this is scored to your service line, with a written reason and a bid / no-bid call. Then we help you price it to win - a costed breakdown and value-for-money case, an axis few rivals cover. The free gov portals just list it.
- Supply and Maintenance of Metal Detection Walk through Archways, Handheld Wands and Detection Poles
Ministry of Justice · £6,889,960 · Find a Tender
- LBS Soft Facilities Management Services
London Borough of Sutton · £1,500,000 · Find a Tender
- Keyholding, lock up and security services at Frensham Great Pond & Common and other countryside Offices across Waverley Borough.
Waverley Borough Council · closes 31 Aug · Find a Tender
- Security Equipment & Associated Services
Crescent Purchasing Consortium Limited · £10,428,801 · closes 31 Aug · Find a Tender
- EEM0067 - Fire Safety, Security & Entry and Access Systems Framework
EFFICIENCY EAST MIDLANDS LIMITED · closes 18 Aug · Find a Tender
Example score shown for illustration. Your own matches are scored to your business once you add it - free, no card.
See all 43 live security services tenders near you
What a real security notice actually asks for - and how the panel scores it
A guarding notice that "just" wants officers on a reception desk is really testing two things the wording under-states: the licensed, vetted workforce and the handover. The selection gates are licensing-led. Every deployed officer must hold the correct SIA licence for the actual licensable activity - and the category matters, because a Security Guarding licence does not cover licensed premises (that needs Door Supervision) or public-space CCTV monitoring (that needs the CCTV/PSS licence). SIA licensing sits outside procurement law as a statutory condition under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, so it is a hard gate however the competition is run. BS 7858 pre-deployment screening is a near-universal contractual condition, and on a school, hospital, care or leisure site officers also need an Enhanced DBS with the relevant barred-list check - a separate requirement that BS 7858 does not satisfy. BidSquirrel checks that licence-to-activity match and the vetting stack against your business first.
The award runs on the most advantageous tender (MAT under s.19 of the Procurement Act 2023): quality is scored against a published weighting, not on who is cheapest. Most re-tenders transfer staff under TUPE, so the mobilisation answer is where contracts are won and lost - panels want a dated plan that inherits the workforce, completes full BS 7858 vetting at mobilisation pace with interim controls for anyone posted before screening finishes, and maintains zero-gap cover through shift handover. Where a monitored control room or CCTV suite is in scope, the monitoring should be run to BS EN 50518 (and the right category, I or II) with a licence mix that matches the surveillance scope; where guarding is lone or remote, a BS 8484:2022 lone-worker provision with a tested escalation chain is what a serious panel expects.
The commonest way a capable firm loses is promising a headcount it cannot vet in time, or offering warm intentions where the social-value criterion wanted specifics - a named number of local roles, real Living Wage accreditation, funded licence renewals and progression. BidSquirrel builds each answer from your own evidence to the exact criterion, stress-tests the mobilisation narrative the way this panel would, and hands it back with the licensing and comparable-contract facts that actually earn the marks.
How to win security services contracts
Match the SIA licence to the actual activity
Evaluators want assurance every deployed officer holds the correct SIA licence for the licensable activity on site - a Security Guarding licence does not cover licensed premises (needs Door Supervision) or public-space CCTV monitoring (needs the CCTV/PSS licence). BidSquirrel reads the notice through a security-experienced lens and checks that licence match, plus BS 7858 screening and, on school, hospital or care sites, the Enhanced DBS with the relevant barred-list check that BS 7858 does not replace.
Nail mobilisation and TUPE
Most guarding re-tenders transfer staff under TUPE, and buyers score how credibly you inherit them and mobilise without service dips. A clear, dated plan that handles the transfer, full BS 7858 vetting at mobilisation pace, training and uniform wins quality marks others lose. BidSquirrel builds your draft around the workforce information and your own evidence, then stress-tests the mobilisation narrative the way the panel would.
Treat social value as scored
In a low-pay, high-turnover sector the credible themes are workforce-led: real Living Wage accreditation, local recruitment into guarding roles, funded SIA licence renewals and progression from officer to supervisor. BidSquirrel drafts each social-value answer from your own evidence, scores its own draft the way an evaluator would and flags where a commitment is too thin to earn the marks.
Evidence, do not assert
A comparable contract with a name, value and outcome beats "extensive experience". Where a control room or CCTV suite is in scope, name the monitoring standard (BS EN 50518, and the category); where guarding is lone or remote, name your BS 8484 lone-worker provision. BidSquirrel builds your draft from your own evidence and scores its own work the way a panel would, so it leads with what actually earns the marks.
Thinking of paying a bid writer for security services tenders? BidSquirrel drafts each answer with you from your own evidence, scores it like the panel, and then helps you price to win - a costed breakdown and the value-for-money case, an axis few rivals cover - so the marks come from your facts and your number, not outsourced prose.
Compare us to a bid writerProcurement regime
Most public-sector security work runs under the Procurement Act 2023, above or below threshold - it is goods/services procurement, so the NHS Provider Selection Regime does not apply even when the buyer is an NHS trust. Devolved buyers in Scotland and Wales use their own portals and rules. The distinctive point in this sector is the licensing overlay: SIA licensing sits outside procurement law as a statutory condition of doing the work under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, so it behaves as a hard condition of participation however the buyer structures the competition. BidSquirrel classifies each tender's regime and checks your eligibility (SIA licensing by activity, BS 7858 screening, insurance, standing) before you commit a day to the bid.
Questions, answered
Do I need to be on a framework to win public sector security work?
Not always. Plenty of guarding, patrol and CCTV work is tendered directly or bought as sub-threshold quotes, especially by individual councils and schools. Frameworks matter most for larger, multi-site requirements. BidSquirrel flags which route applies to each opportunity and whether you qualify.
How do I find security tenders near me?
They are spread across Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, the Scottish and Welsh portals and council quote systems. BidSquirrel pulls them into one feed and scores each against your business, coverage area and accreditations, so you only see the ones worth bidding for.
Can a small security firm compete with the national players?
Yes, particularly on local and mid-value contracts where responsiveness, retention and genuine social value count. Public buyers have clear SME ambitions. What holds smaller firms back is usually visibility and bid quality, not headcount.
Guides for security services bidders
How tenders are scored
Read the guideSocial value: what counts
Read the guideCouncil contracts under £30k
Read the guidePrefer to browse by area? See live security services and other tenders by UK region, or read all our bidding guides.
Other sectors
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