UK public sector cyber contract awards, Q3 2026
TenderCyber research · figures from our records on 26 Oct 2026
UK public sector buyers awarded 106 cyber security contracts from 1 July to 30 September 2026. Where the buyer published a value, 94 of them were worth £97M in total.
Two contracts make up £55.9M of that total: one from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government worth up to £30M and one from the Ministry of Justice worth up to £25.9M.
Value by type of work
A contract that covers two types of work is counted under each, so the rows add up to more than the total. Each type links to every cyber contract award of that type, from all quarters, not Q3 2026 only.
| Type of work | Contracts | Value where published |
|---|---|---|
| SOC, detection and response | 28 | £38M |
| Governance, risk and audit | 24 | £35M |
| Training and awareness | 13 | £12M |
| Penetration testing | 20 | £6.2M |
| Network security | 5 | £4.2M |
| Cyber work, type not named | 9 | £1.4M |
| Backup, recovery and resilience | 6 | £1.3M |
| Cyber insurance | 5 | £478K |
| Digital forensics | 3 | £450K |
| Identity and access | 2 | £59.4K |
| Cyber staffing and interim roles | 1 | £18K |
The ten buyers that spent the most
By the value of their cyber contracts awarded in Q3 2026, where they published one. 76 buyers published a value.
| Buyer | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 1 | £30M |
| Ministry of Justice | 1 | £26M |
| NHS England | 2 | £9.4M |
| Ministry of Defence | 6 | £9.2M |
| Home Office | 1 | £1.5M |
| Intellectual Property Office | 1 | £1.3M |
| Social Security Scotland | 1 | £1.2M |
| Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | 2 | £1.1M |
| Financial Services Compensation Scheme | 1 | £1M |
| Surrey County Council | 1 | £1M |
Contracts that end in Q4 2026
59 UK public sector cyber contracts end from 1 October to 31 December 2026. Each buyer will decide whether to renew the contract or tender it again. See when cyber contracts end.
How we count
- A contract is counted in the quarter of its award date, as the notice states it.
- We count cyber security services. Product and licence purchases are left out.
- The winner’s size is as stated on the notice. A contract won by a mix of large and small firms counts as not SME. An award whose notice states no size is left out of the share.
- A value counts only where it is money one buyer will pay. A framework ceiling shared by several suppliers is left out. A value stated with VAT is counted without it.
- We use the total value each award notice states. Where a notice gives a range, that total is sometimes the top of it: for 6 of the 11 Q3 awards with a range, it is.
- We read every notice on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.
- These figures are from our records on 26 Oct 2026. A buyer can publish an award notice weeks after the award. An award first published after that day is not counted here, so this report does not change.
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