How do you win council and NHS minor works contracts?
Bid where the field is small, read the weighting before you write, and answer each question as a method statement for that site. In 12 months of minor works awards in England and Wales, the median competed tender drew 4 bids, fewer than housing repairs (7), and 68% of winners filed small or micro company accounts. Quality carried a median 50% of the marks, so price and the written answers count about the same.
These figures come from our own analysis of 635,916 public notices. Minor works here means building works a small contractor prices and builds: refurbishment and fit-out, mechanical and electrical, roofing, groundworks and external works, building fabric, windows and doors, extensions and new build, for councils (including council schools), NHS estates and other public bodies; housing repairs and improvement works are counted as repairs, not here, October 2025 to October 2026.
Minor works tenders in numbers
| Measure | Figure | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Competed minor works contracts (lots) awarded in 12 months | 1,116 | all public buyers, England and Wales, £100k to £4m; direct awards and framework set-ups left out |
| Median bids per competed lot | 4 | 504 competed lots, all public buyers, any value; middle half 3 to 7. Lots worth £100k to £4m drew a median of 5 (281 lots) |
| Of winners file small or micro accounts | 68% | winning suppliers matched to Companies House (88% of 3,986 award rows) |
| Median share of marks for quality | 50% | 126 lots with a published weighting, all public buyers, any value; middle half 29% to 70% |
| Of lots give quality more than half the marks | 48% | 126 lots with a published weighting, all public buyers, any value |
| Let through open or competitive tenders | 67% | 3,430 lots; 26% direct awards, 3% framework or DPS set-ups, 5% call-offs |
| Median contract value | £100,000 | 3,102 contracts with a published value, any value; middle half £45,000 to £273,000 |
| Median initial term | 2.5 months | 3,115 contracts with a start and end date; middle half 1.3 to 5.6 months |
| Active limited companies won this work in the last 3 years | 2,970 | 2,155 of them file small or micro accounts |
Source: ClearBid analysis of Find a Tender and Contracts Finder notices, October 2025 to October 2026, matched to Companies House. Public sector minor works contracts worth £100,000 to £4 million in England and Wales. How we work these out.
Who buys minor works?
Councils let 57% of competed minor works contracts, NHS trusts and estates bodies 25%, and other public bodies such as universities, police and fire services and museums 17%. Housing associations hardly appear: their works to homes count as housing repairs.
| Buyer | Contracts | Median bids | Median quality share | Median value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Councils | 636 | 5 | 50% | £281,000 |
| Council school works | 198 | 5 | 40% | £234,000 |
| NHS trusts and estates bodies | 281 | 3.5 | not published | £253,000 |
| Other public bodies | 194 | 3 | 60% | £255,000 |
Contracts: competed lots worth £100,000 to £4 million. Bids: every competed lot from that buyer group with a published bid count. Quality: every lot with a published weighting; under 20 lots the figure is a rough guide only. Council school works are part of the council row. October 2025 to October 2026.
Which kinds of minor works draw the fewest bids?
Mechanical and electrical work and building fabric, windows and doors drew a median of 3 bids, and 78% and 75% of their winners filed small or micro accounts. Refurbishment and fit-out is the biggest group and the most crowded, at 6 bids. Roofing and groundworks sit between, at 5 and 5.
| Kind of work | Share | Median bids | Median value | Small or micro winners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refurbishment and fit-out | 29% | 6 | £289,000 | 66% |
| Mechanical and electrical | 20% | 3 | £236,000 | 78% |
| Roofing | 14% | 5 | £254,000 | 74% |
| Groundworks and external works | 13% | 5 | £260,000 | 67% |
| Building fabric, windows and doors | 8% | 3 | £208,000 | 75% |
| New build | 3% | 4 | £973,000 | 64% |
| Extensions | 2% | 3.5 | £522,000 | 89% |
| Other or unclear titles | 11% | 4 | £265,000 | 61% |
The kind of work comes from words in the notice title, then its CPV code. Medians on fewer than 20 lots are a rough guide only. October 2025 to October 2026.
1. Bid where the field is small
A tender with 3 bidders gives you better odds than one with 6, before anyone reads a word. If you do mechanical and electrical work or fabric repairs, look for those tenders first.
2. Read the weighting before you write
The median minor works tender gave quality 50% of the marks. 52% of tenders that published a weighting gave quality half the marks or less, so on those a cheaper bid can beat a better-written one. Where quality is 60% or more, your method statement carries the most weight. NHS estates tenders rarely publish a weighting in the notice, so find it in the tender documents before you decide.
3. Council school works: plan around the school
Works at schools made up 198 of the councils' 636 contracts. Expect questions on safeguarding (DBS checks, how your team keeps away from pupils), working in the holidays or out of hours, and keeping the site safe when part of the school stays open. Answer with what you have done on other school jobs.
4. NHS estates: show you can work on a live site
NHS trusts and estates bodies let 281 contracts, with a median of 3.5 bids. Hospitals and clinics stay open during the works, so expect questions on infection prevention and control, keeping wards, clinics and fire escape routes running, permits from the estates team and the technical standards the specification names.
5. Small, short contracts: size the help to the job
The median minor works contract was worth £100,000 and ran 2.5 months. 26% of lots were direct awards without a competition. Some buyers also run dynamic purchasing systems for small works, which stay open to new applicants, so it is worth joining the ones near you. For a small tender, a check of your own answers (a Health Check) may be enough; for a larger one, a full Response Draft.
6. Answer as a method statement for that site
Answer every part of each question, in the order asked, inside the word limit, with your own people, method and past jobs. Most minor works questions ask about:
- Programme: the sequence of the works, lead times and how you fit the buyer's dates.
- Health and safety under CDM 2015: who is principal contractor, your construction phase plan, risk assessments, asbestos and working at height.
- Working in an occupied building: hoarding, deliveries, noise and dust, and keeping services and escape routes open.
- Quality control and handover: inspections, testing and commissioning, guarantees, manuals and the defects period.
- Social value: commitments you can deliver on a contract this size, measured and reported.
- Accreditations: CHAS, Constructionline or another safety scheme, and Gas Safe and NICEIC or NAPIT for mechanical and electrical work. Have the certificates ready: buyers often make them pass or fail.
Our guide to how tenders are scored shows what evaluators look for. See our fixed prices for minor works contractors.
Questions
How many bids does a council minor works tender get?
A median of 5 per competed lot for councils, and 4 across all public buyers (504 competed lots, all public buyers, any value, England and Wales, October 2025 to October 2026).
Do small contractors win NHS and council minor works?
Yes. 68% of the winners we matched to Companies House file small or micro accounts, and 2,970 active limited companies won this work in the last three years.
How much of the score is quality on minor works tenders?
The median is 50%, and 48% of tenders that published a weighting gave quality more than half the marks. NHS estates tenders rarely publish a weighting at all.
What do minor works tenders usually ask?
Most ask for a method statement: the programme, health and safety under CDM 2015, how you will work in an occupied school, hospital or office, quality control and handover, social value, and your accreditations, often as pass or fail.
Will ClearBid price the works for me?
No. We never write or advise on pricing. We write and check the quality answers: a Health Check or a Response Draft.
Sources
- ClearBid award statistics and method. Source: ClearBid analysis of Find a Tender and Contracts Finder notices, October 2025 to October 2026, matched to Companies House. Public sector minor works contracts worth £100,000 to £4 million in England and Wales.
- ClearBid segment checks: minor works (analysis/segment-checks-results-2026-10-28.md). The minor works rule, a 50-title check and the figures by buyer and kind of work
- HSE: Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Duties of clients, principal designers and principal contractors
Public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Spotted something wrong? See how our figures are built and how to report a correction.