UK EV charging frameworks in 2026: which are live, how to buy through them, and who's using them

If you buy or bid for EV charging in the UK public sector, the names are familiar: RM6213, VCI3, NEPO232. What is harder to keep track of is which ones are still live, what each one lets you do, and who is actually using them. Avon and Somerset Police, for example, called off about £1.2m of depot charging from ESPO's VCI3 this year.

This guide sets out where things stand on 1 October 2026. The framework details come from each owner's own pages. The examples come from the award notices on EVTenders, so every call-off named here links to its notice on EVTenders.

Which frameworks can public bodies use to buy EV charging?

In short, these are the main live routes on 1 October 2026:

• GCA (formerly Crown Commercial Service, CCS) RM6213 Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Solutions: a DPS, to 23 February 2029.
• GCA (formerly CCS) RM6347 Transport Technology, Lot 6: an open framework, to 22 October 2027.
• ESPO Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 3 (VCI3): a framework, to December 2027, extendable to 2029.
• NEPO232: a framework, to November 2027, extendable to 2029.
• Scotland Excel 2119: a framework, to December 2029.
• Oxford City Council EV DPS: to 23 February 2029.
• London Councils EV infrastructure and maintenance DPS: launched December 2024.
• Hertfordshire County Council and TPPL Vehicle Purchase Framework, Lot 8: to April 2027.

Each is profiled below: what it is, who runs it, who can buy through it, who is on it, how a supplier gets on, and who has used it.

Framework, DPS or dynamic market: what's the difference?

Most people call all of these "frameworks", and this guide does too. Legally they are different kinds of route, and the difference decides whether a supplier can still join and whether a buyer can award directly:

• Framework: the suppliers are chosen once, at the start, and no new ones join until it is re-let. It usually runs for up to four years. Buyers call off by a mini-competition, or award directly if the framework sets out the terms and an objective way to choose the supplier.
• Dynamic purchasing system (DPS): set up under the old 2015 rules. It stays open for its whole life to any supplier that meets the criteria, and every call-off is a competition among the admitted suppliers, so there is no direct award. No new ones can be started under the old rules, and the existing ones must close by 23 February 2029.
• Open framework: a framework under the Procurement Act 2023 that is re-let on the same terms at set points, at least once in its first three years, so new suppliers can get on. It can run for up to eight years in total. RM6347 is one.
• Dynamic market: the Procurement Act's replacement for the DPS. Suppliers can apply to join at any time, there is no cap on numbers, and contracts are competed among its members.

Is RM6213 still live, and what is RM6347?

Yes, RM6213 is still live. In February 2026 the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), formerly Crown Commercial Service (CCS), extended it to 23 February 2029, the latest date the law allows for a DPS of its kind. Buyers filter the DPS for suppliers that match their requirement and run their own further competition; there is no direct award. It also carries a supplier-funded filter, and GCA advises buyers to take their own legal advice before using that route.

It has not been replaced so much as joined. GCA's newer route is RM6347 Transport Technology, Lot 6, an open framework under the Procurement Act 2023 that allows award without competition. Lot 6 covers EV infrastructure: charge points, installation, professional services, and energy generation and storage, with 48 suppliers. Its successor, RM6347.2, is expected to start in October 2027, with applications opening in early 2027.

The frameworks, one by one

GCA (formerly CCS) RM6213 Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Solutions (VCIS)

• What it is: a dynamic purchasing system (DPS) for EV charging: consultancy and feasibility, design, supply, installation, maintenance, back office, lease or purchase. Live from April 2020 to 23 February 2029. The RM6213 notice.
• Run by: the Government Commercial Agency, the Cabinet Office's commercial agency. Crown Commercial Service became GCA on 1 April 2026.
• Who can buy: central government and the wider public sector. Buyers register with GCA, filter the suppliers in the DPS and run a further competition. GCA's eSourcing tool is free for public sector buyers.
• Suppliers: places are unlimited, and GCA does not publish the list.
• How suppliers get on: apply at any time until it closes. There is no cost to apply.
• Recent buyers: Nottinghamshire County Council (supplier-funded, Qwello, 2026); Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (Cube EV, about £378,000, 2026); Barnsley Council for South Yorkshire (Blink, about £860,000, 2025); Newham (on-street, Liberty Charge, about £1.3m, 2024); Tewkesbury and the Met Office (both Swarco, 2024).

GCA (formerly CCS) RM6347 Transport Technology, Lot 6

• What it is: Lot 6 (EV infrastructure) of GCA's Transport Technology open framework: charging infrastructure, professional services, charge points, energy generation and storage. 23 October 2025 to 22 October 2027.
• Run by: the Government Commercial Agency.
• Who can buy: central government, local authorities, education, health, blue light services, charities and the devolved administrations. Buyers can run a competitive selection or an RFQ, or award without competition, and must also register on the Central Digital Platform.
• Suppliers: 48 on Lot 6.
• How suppliers get on: closed for now. RM6347.2 is expected to start in October 2027, with applications opening in early 2027; its Lot 6 becomes zero emission vehicle infrastructure.
• Recent buyers: West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (first phase of charging, AMP EV, September 2026).

ESPO Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 3 (VCI3, 636_25)

• What it is: a framework under the Procurement Act 2023 with four lots: charge point purchase (turnkey), back office, service and maintenance, and consultancy. 24 December 2025 to 23 December 2027, extendable to 23 December 2029. The VCI3 award.
• Run by: ESPO, a public sector buying organisation owned by six councils: Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire and Peterborough.
• Who can buy: public bodies across the UK, including councils, schools, central government, police, fire, the NHS, charities and housing associations. Buyers register as an ESPO customer and sign its access agreement.
• Suppliers: 38, including AMP EV, Amplify EV, Arcadis, Believ, Blink, BMM Energy, Char.gy, Connected Kerb, E.ON Drive, Joju, Mer, Plug, SEE Services, Swarco, ubitricity, UKPN Services and Zest.
• How suppliers get on: closed until it is re-tendered. ESPO has not published a successor date.
• Recent buyers: Avon and Somerset Police (depot charging across three sites, Joju, about £1.2m, 2026); Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (MER, 2026); County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (MER, direct call-off, 2026). Under the previous framework, VCI2: Runnymede Borough Council (Swarco, 2025) and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (MER, direct award, 2025).

NEPO232 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

• What it is: a framework for goods, installation, operation and maintenance of charging infrastructure. 28 November 2023 to 27 November 2027, with a final end date of 27 November 2029. The NEPO232 award.
• Run by: NEPO, the North East Procurement Organisation, governed by the 12 North East councils.
• Who can buy: NEPO's member and associate member authorities. Associate membership is free and open to councils, education, emergency services, the NHS, charities, housing associations and central government.
• Suppliers: eight: AMP EV, Apcoa, Believ (Liberty Charge), Connected Kerb, EQUANS, Swarco UK, ubitricity and Zest.
• How suppliers get on: closed. There is no EV charging re-tender on NEPO's published pipeline to December 2026.
• Recent buyers: Lewisham (installation, operation and maintenance, Zest, about £1.5m, 2025).

Scotland Excel 2119 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

• What it is: a framework with four lots: supply, install and maintain; supply only; install; maintain. 30 May 2022 to 29 December 2029.
• Run by: Scotland Excel, a non-profit organisation serving Scotland's 32 councils and over 150 associate members.
• Who can buy: Scotland Excel's local authority and associate members.
• Suppliers: 33, 18 of them SMEs, including Connected Kerb, MP Group, Swarco Smart Charging and Valley Group.
• How suppliers get on: closed until it is re-tendered.
• Recent buyers: Argyll and Bute Council (rapid chargers, MP Group, 2026); East Ayrshire Council (13 chargers, Swarco, 2024).

Oxford City Council EV DPS

• What it is: a dynamic purchasing system for EV charging infrastructure, running to 23 February 2029. The Oxford DPS notice.
• Run by: Oxford City Council.
• Who can buy: all UK public sector bodies, by signing an access agreement. Running your own procurement through it is free; Oxford's supported service costs £600. Further competition only, with a minimum of 10 days.
• Suppliers: 53, with 98 councils enrolled.
• How suppliers get on: apply at any time, free, on Oxford's In-tend portal (reference DPS OCC000004). Oxford aims to respond within two weeks. Suppliers pay a 0.7% fee only on contracts they win.
• Recent buyers: Newport City Council (19 on-street chargepoints, Urban Fox, 2025); Waltham Forest (31 replacements, ubitricity, 2025); Leicestershire County Council's LEVI pilot (Gamma Energy, 2024); Cheshire East Council (install, operate and maintain, Qwello, 2024); Richmond and Wandsworth (lamp-column charging, char.gy, 2024).

London Councils EV infrastructure and maintenance DPS

• What it is: a dynamic purchasing system for EV infrastructure and maintenance, launched in December 2024 to run for four years. The London Councils notice.
• Run by: London Councils, the collective of London's 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation.
• Who can buy: all councils and public sector organisations, including those outside London.
• Suppliers: 14 at launch.
• How suppliers get on: London Councils asks suppliers to email LondonDPS@londoncouncils.gov.uk for how to apply.

Hertfordshire County Council and TPPL Vehicle Purchase Framework, Lot 8

• What it is: Lot 8, EV charging infrastructure, of a vehicle purchase framework. April 2023 to April 2027. Call-offs by mini-competition or direct award.
• Run by: TPPL (The Procurement Partnership Ltd), a private company providing procurement services to the public sector, with Hertfordshire County Council as the contracting authority.
• Who can buy: local authorities and the wider public and not-for-profit sector, including police, fire, housing associations, charities, schools and universities. Membership is free, and TPPL runs mini-competitions free of charge.
• Suppliers: eight listed by TPPL.
• How suppliers get on: closed. TPPL expects to issue the tender for the successor framework in October or November 2026.
• Recent buyers: Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (installation and maintenance, Joju, 2024).

A pattern in these notices: NHS trusts and police forces tend to use the ESPO and GCA routes, often with direct or fast call-offs for their own sites, while councils doing on-street work tend to use DPS further competitions and standalone concessions.

Why do so many EV charging DPSs end on 23 February 2029?

Because the law says they must. Under the transitional rules for the Procurement Act 2023, a dynamic purchasing system set up under the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015 has to close by 23 February 2029, and its term could not be changed after 23 February 2026. That is why RM6213, the Oxford DPS and other older DPSs share the same end date, and why there is no further extension coming for any of them.

Until then they keep running under the old rules, and they can still take on new suppliers: the 2026 cut-off froze their end date, not their membership. New routes are being set up under the Act instead, as open frameworks (like RM6347) and dynamic markets.

Which other frameworks include EV charging?

Many of the frameworks that carry EV charging are not EV frameworks at all. Charging often sits inside a much wider scope: mechanical and electrical, decarbonisation, highways, street lighting or grid works. If you only search for "EV charging framework", you miss them. Some current examples from our records:

• Eastern Procurement's Heating, Electrical, Mechanical and Decarbonisation Framework: about £1.06bn, with EV charging installation in scope, from January 2027.
• NHMF (NPC)'s Mechanical and Electrical Framework for Northern Ireland: about £500m, including EV charging infrastructure, at pre-market stage, from April 2027.
• Liverpool City Council's Highways Planned Works Framework: up to £800m to March 2029, with EV charge point expansion among its aims.
• Kent's street and external lighting framework (Y23044): £200m to June 2029, with lamp posts with integrated EV charge points in Lot 2.
• Network Rail's Electricity Distributors Network Supplier Framework: site power upgrades and connections, including for EV charging.

There are also dedicated EV frameworks run by a single council or region, such as Kent's EV Infrastructure and Associated Solutions framework (Y23049), four lots including HGV and bus charging, with a tender notice covering 2025 to 2028, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority EV infrastructure framework (£50m, 2024 to 2029). Check their current status and who can use them with the owner.

Can you direct award EV charging through a framework?

On some routes, yes. It depends on the route:

• ESPO VCI3: yes. It allows call-off without competition. County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust called off from MER this way in March 2026. ESPO still recommends a site survey and further competition for new installations.
• RM6347: yes, as award without competition. BlueLight Commercial ordered support from Cenex this way under RM6347 for the police EV transition in September 2026.
• Hertfordshire and TPPL Lot 8: yes, direct award or mini-competition.
• RM6213: no. Further competition only.
• Oxford DPS: no. Further competition only, with a minimum of 10 days.
• NEPO232 and Scotland Excel: the call-off routes are set out in the members' areas; check with the framework owner.

Can a LEVI or supplier-funded concession go through a framework?

Sometimes, but this is where buyers most often need to check the small print.

• The Oxford DPS does not currently allow regulated concessions above £5,372,609 including VAT ("until further notice").
• RM6213 has a supplier-funded filter, but GCA advises taking your own legal advice before using it for a supplier-funded model.
• NEPO232 covers operation as well as installation. The London Borough of Lewisham ran a mini-competition under it for installation, operation and maintenance, awarded to Zest in April 2025 (about £1.5m).

Many LEVI concessions are run as standalone open tenders instead. Our guide to how councils structure EV concessions covers the shapes they take.

Can councils outside the region use NEPO or the London Councils DPS?

Yes for London Councils: its DPS is open to councils and public sector organisations outside the capital. For NEPO232, through NEPO's free associate membership: Lewisham, a London borough, awarded through it in 2025. Scotland Excel is for its members, which are Scottish councils and associate members.

Are the GCA templates and Energy Saving Trust tools a framework?

No. In February 2025 GCA published template documents with the Department for Transport and the LEVI Support Body: tender templates, draft concession terms and a commercial response template for running an open-market, supplier-funded on-street procurement. The Energy Saving Trust's procurement tools, launched in September 2025, are the same kind of thing. They help you run your own tender; they are not a route to market.

Keeping track

Frameworks change often: extensions, successors, new lots, supplier changes. When they do, the notices land on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, and we track them. You can browse every EV charging tender and award on EVTenders, or watch a buyer or a tender to be told when something moves.

Sources

Framework details were read on 1 October 2026 from the owners' own pages and the legislation:

• GCA: RM6213 Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Solutions
• GCA: RM6347 Transport Technology
• ESPO: Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 3 (636_25) and how to access ESPO frameworks
• NEPO: EV charging infrastructure and associate membership
• Scotland Excel: EV charging infrastructure (2119)
• Oxford City Council: EV DPS for local authorities and for suppliers
• London Councils: DPS launch, December 2024
• TPPL: EV charging infrastructure and upcoming tenders
• Find a Tender: 051039-2025 (ESPO VCI3) and 009869-2023 (Hertfordshire and TPPL)
• Legislation: SI 2024/716, regulation 5 (the DPS end date); the Procurement Act 2023, section 45 (frameworks), section 36 (dynamic markets) and section 49 (open frameworks); the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, regulation 34 (DPSs)

Call-off examples are from the award and tender notices linked above, as published on the UK public notice services.