Procurement Act 2023

Old regime vs new Act

Area	PCR 2015 / old regime	Procurement Act 2023	Status
Legislation	Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, Defence Regulations 2016 — four separate sets	Single consolidated Act covering all regimes	Consolidated
Procurement procedures	Open, Restricted, Competitive with Negotiation, Competitive Dialogue, Innovation Partnership	Open, Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP) — two main routes. Significant flexibility built into CFP.	Simplified
Framework agreements	Max 4-year duration (with exceptions). Call-off via mini-competition or direct award.	Max 4 years (goods/services), 8 years (works) with justification. Open frameworks introduced — new suppliers can join during the term.	Enhanced
Dynamic Purchasing Systems	DPS — open throughout, used mainly for commodities	Dynamic Markets — broader scope, not restricted to common use goods, more flexible	Replaced
Transparency	Contract Award Notice required. Limited transparency obligations.	Extensive new notice regime — Pipeline, Planned Procurement, Tender, Award, Contract Details, Contract Performance, Payments Compliance, Termination notices	NEW
KPI reporting	No statutory requirement	s.52: contracts over £5m must include at least 3 KPIs, published on central digital platform	NEW
Payment transparency	Prompt Payment Code — voluntary. PCR required 30-day terms.	s.68: contracting authorities must include 30-day payment terms flowing down to subcontractors. Payments Compliance Notice from 1 Jan 2026.	NEW
Debarment	Exclusion grounds in PCR 2015 — mandatory and discretionary. Assessed at tender stage.	Central debarment register maintained by Cabinet Office. Minister can debar suppliers — bars them from all public contracts.	NEW
Conflicts of interest	Required to address — limited guidance	Explicit duty to identify, assess and manage conflicts throughout the procurement. Must be documented.	Strengthened
Below-threshold contracts	Light-touch / simplified procedures	New rules for below-threshold — transparency and competition still required, proportionately	Clarified
Social value	Social Value Act 2012 — must consider. PPN 06/20 for central government.	Embedded in Act — value for money explicitly includes social and environmental value	Embedded

◆ The big picture — why it changed

The PCR 2015 was a direct implementation of EU Procurement Directives — post-Brexit, the UK could reform. The Act aims to: simplify the legislative landscape (one Act vs four); increase transparency and reduce corruption risk; open up opportunities for SMEs; embed social value; and strengthen supplier performance management. The single digital platform (Find a Tender replacement) is central to the transparency ambitions.

Current financial thresholds (from 1 January 2026)

Central government — goods & services

£135,018

Above this value: full Act applies. Below: light-touch / below-threshold rules.

Sub-central authorities — goods & services

£207,720

Local authorities, NHS, schools, devolved bodies (exc. Scotland).

Works contracts — all authorities

£5,193,000

Construction, civil engineering, major infrastructure.

Light-touch services

£663,540

Health, social, education, cultural services — higher threshold, simplified process.

KPI obligation (s.52)

£5m

Contracts over £5m must include at least 3 KPIs, published publicly.

Pipeline notice

£2m+

Contracting authorities with £100m+ annual spend must publish 18-month procurement pipeline.

Who is in scope?

Organisation type	In scope?	Notes
Central government departments	Yes	Crown bodies, executive agencies, NDPB
Local authorities	Yes	Councils, combined authorities, fire, police
NHS bodies	Yes	Trusts, ICBs, NHS England
Schools / academies	Yes	Maintained schools, academy trusts
Utilities (gas, water, electricity, transport)	Yes	Under Utilities section of the Act
Defence	Partial	Defence and Security Procurement Regulations remain separate for classified/sensitive contracts
Scotland	No	Procurement is devolved — Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 still apply
Private sector	No	Act applies to public contracting authorities only

◆ Exam tip — thresholds are reviewed every 2 years

Thresholds are updated periodically by statutory instrument. The values above apply from 1 January 2026 (PPN 023: 2026 Threshold Amounts). In exam answers, state the principle (above threshold = full Act applies) rather than relying on specific figures — and note that the correct figures should be verified at the point of each procurement. Scotland remains on its own separate procurement regime.

Key new concepts — click to explore

The new procurement process — click each stage

Notice requirements summary

Notice type	When published	Purpose
Pipeline Notice	Annual (18 months ahead)	Authorities with £100m+ spend publish planned procurements — market visibility
Planned Procurement Notice	Before tender	Early market engagement signal — can replace standstill if used correctly
Tender Notice	At launch of competition	Formally opens the competition — replaces Contract Notice
Award Notice	Within 5 days of decision	Notifies unsuccessful bidders — triggers standstill period
Contract Details Notice	Within 30 days of award	Publishes contract terms on central platform — transparency
Contract Performance Notice	Periodically during contract	KPI performance published for contracts over £5m — in force 1 Jan 2026
Payments Compliance Notice	Periodically	Payment performance data published — in force 1 Jan 2026
Contract Change Notice	Before material change	Transparency on significant contract modifications
Termination Notice	On termination	Records termination — feeds into debarment risk assessment

◆ Exam tip — the standstill period

The standstill period (minimum 8 working days after Award Notice) gives unsuccessful bidders the opportunity to challenge the decision before the contract is signed. Signing during standstill renders the contract ineffective. A Planned Procurement Notice published at least 40 days before tender can reduce the standstill period. This is a frequently tested procedural point.

Scenario 01

The KPI obligation

A local authority is awarding a facilities management contract worth £8m over 4 years. The procurement team argues that KPIs are optional and they want to keep the contract flexible. What is the correct position under the Procurement Act 2023?

KPIs are optional for all public contracts — the authority has discretion

KPIs are only required for central government contracts over £5m

The contract must include at least 3 KPIs under s.52 — it exceeds the £5m threshold and the authority is in scope

KPIs are required but do not need to be published publicly

Correct. Section 52 of the Procurement Act 2023 requires contracting authorities to include at least 3 KPIs in contracts with a value of £5m or more. These must be published on the central digital platform via Contract Performance Notices (mandatory from 1 January 2026). The obligation applies to all in-scope contracting authorities including local authorities — not just central government. "Keeping it flexible" is not a valid reason to omit KPIs for a contract of this value.

Scenario 02

The Dynamic Market

A procurement team wants to establish an arrangement for buying professional consultancy services over the next 3 years, allowing new suppliers to apply to join at any time. Under the Procurement Act 2023, which mechanism is most appropriate?

A closed framework agreement — established once, fixed list of suppliers

A Dynamic Market — open to new suppliers throughout its life, suitable for services

A Dynamic Purchasing System — the old PCR 2015 mechanism, no longer available

An open framework — suitable but only for goods, not services

Correct. The Procurement Act 2023 replaced the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) with the broader Dynamic Market. Unlike the old DPS (limited to common use goods and services), Dynamic Markets can be used for any goods, works or services. They remain open throughout their life — suppliers can apply to join at any time. This is exactly what this team needs. Note: open frameworks also allow new suppliers to join at set intervals, but Dynamic Markets offer more continuous access.

Scenario 03

The standstill trap

A contracting authority issues an Award Notice on a Monday. Pressure from the business means they sign the contract the following Friday — 4 working days later. An unsuccessful bidder challenges the decision. What is the legal position?

The contract stands — the authority acted quickly and efficiently

The challenge fails — the bidder should have challenged before the Award Notice

The contract may be set aside — signing during the 8-working-day standstill period can render the contract ineffective

The authority must pay compensation but the contract stands

Correct. The minimum standstill period is 8 working days from the Award Notice. Signing the contract during standstill is a serious breach — the courts can declare the contract ineffective (as if it never existed), award damages, or shorten the contract term. Business pressure is not a defence. This is one of the most serious procedural risks in public procurement. The standstill period exists specifically to give unsuccessful bidders a fair opportunity to challenge before the contract is signed.

Scenario 04

The debarred supplier

A supplier on the central debarment register submits a tender for a local authority IT contract. The procurement team is not aware the supplier is debarred. What should happen?

The tender should be evaluated normally — debarment only applies to central government

The authority has discretion whether to exclude the debarred supplier

The supplier should be given an opportunity to address the debarment reasons before exclusion

The supplier must be excluded — debarment is a mandatory exclusion ground for all in-scope contracting authorities

Correct. The central debarment register, maintained by the Cabinet Office, lists suppliers who have been formally debarred by a Minister. Debarment is a mandatory exclusion ground for all in-scope contracting authorities — there is no discretion. Contracting authorities must check the register as part of their exclusion assessment. Ignorance of the register is not a defence. This is why the register is public and authorities are expected to use it in every procurement above threshold.

Scenario 05

The open framework

A buying authority wants to establish a framework for legal services that allows new law firms to apply to join the framework at set intervals during its 4-year life. Which mechanism introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 is most appropriate?

An open framework — allows new suppliers to join at defined intervals, available under the 2023 Act

A Dynamic Market — more appropriate for continuous open access rather than interval-based entry

A closed framework — fixed supplier list, no new entrants during the term

A Competitive Flexible Procedure — not a framework mechanism

Correct. The open framework is a new mechanism introduced by the Procurement Act 2023. Unlike a traditional closed framework (fixed list of suppliers established at the outset), an open framework allows new suppliers to apply to join at defined intervals — at least once in the first 3 years of a framework lasting longer than 3 years. This increases competition and market access, particularly for SMEs who may not have been established when the framework was first set up. It is distinct from a Dynamic Market, which allows continuous open access rather than interval-based entry.

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