UK Digital Procurement Roundup: September 2026

September saw some sizeable UK public sector technology contract announcements spanning customer relationship management (CRM), cloud, cybersecurity, data and telecoms.

Among the largest was HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) new enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) contract with Salesforce UK, which has a maximum value of £2 billion, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) awarded Phoenix Software a £167.1 million Microsoft Enterprise Agreement.

Elsewhere, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) agreed a £94.6 million prisoner telephony deal with BT, while new technology contracts were announced at HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), NHS England and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Salesforce lands £2 billion HMRC CRM deal

HMRC selected Salesforce UK for a new enterprise CRM contract with a maximum value of £2 billion.

The deal will provide a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform covering customer and case management, interactions and messaging, AI, analytics and reporting, alongside professional services to support implementation.

The initial contract will run for 10 years from September 2026, with options to extend it by up to a further five years.

Defra awards Phoenix £167.1 million Microsoft deal

Defra awarded Phoenix Software a £167.1 million Microsoft Enterprise Agreement in September.

The three-year contract was awarded on 14 September and runs until September 2029.

Defra also awarded Capgemini UK a separate £33.7 million contract for application development, maintenance and support across its trade application estate. The deal runs until March 2029.

MoJ agrees £94.6 million BT prisoner telephony deal

The MoJ awarded BT a £94.6 million agreement to continue providing prisoner telephony services across prisons in England and Wales run by HM Prison and Probation Service.

The direct award is intended to bridge the period between the existing prisoner telephony service and its planned replacement, the Prisoner Integrated Communications Service.

The agreement was awarded on 6 September and is due to run from May 2027 until November 2031.

Accenture takes £25.9 million HMCTS cybersecurity contract

HMCTS selected Accenture UK to provide managed cybersecurity services under a contract valued at £25.9 million.

The five-year agreement runs from September 2026 until August 2031 and covers a managed cyber security service on behalf of HMCTS.

NHS England awards BT £13.6 million smartcards contract

NHS England awarded BT a £13.6 million contract for its Smartcards Service.

The agreement covers the supply of smartcards, middleware development and associated support and logistics services. The contract runs from September 2026 until October 2029.

NHS England also revealed during the month that Netcompany had secured a £215.2 million contract to support its adult screening and personalisation digital services.

The contract covers digital services supporting England’s national adult screening programmes, including breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening. The award itself was made on 25 August, with details published in September.

DWP signs cloud and data deals

DWP awarded Accenture UK a £12.1 million contract for Strategic Central Cloud Platform Team Services.

The work includes cloud platform services, environment review and maintenance, architecture assurance, engineering and DevOps, alongside knowledge transfer and handover from existing DWP teams.

DWP also selected Credera for its Data Warehouse Route to Cloud programme in a £6.1 million, two-year deal.

The programme will support the design and delivery of a cloud data platform, including the migration of around 150TB of data from legacy infrastructure and the decommissioning of existing on-premise systems.

Leeds City Council signs £13 million Microsoft agreement

Leeds City Council awarded Phoenix Software a £13 million Microsoft Enterprise Subscription Agreement.

The three-year contract runs until September 2029. The agreement was procured through the Technology Products and Associated Services 2 framework.