Procurement, tenders and contracts

Procurement Act 2023

The laws that govern public sector procurement and contract management are changing.  The Transforming Public Procurement programme has changed how public procurement is regulated and carried out to:

• create a simpler and more flexible, commercial system that better meets our country's needs while remaining compliant with our international obligations
• open up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses and social enterprises so that they can compete for and win more public contracts
• embed transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle so that the spending of taxpayers' money can be properly scrutinised

The Procurement Act 2023 and associated regulations has replaced the current Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015.

New Central Digital Platform

The Act legislates for provision of a Central Digital Platform (CDP) to facilitate the requirement for public sector to publish notices and documents in respect of procurement. 

This will be where all UK contracting authorities will publish information relating to procurement. It will be a place for suppliers to find out what opportunities are coming along that they may wish to bid for, as well as details on contracts that have been let, how contracts are being changed and other useful information.

Additionally, suppliers will need to use the CDP to register, input and then share their commonly used information as part of the procurement.

This platform will be enhancement of the existing Find a Tender service with a simple registration for suppliers to store their core business details that then can be used for multiple bids.

It will be free to use - there are no charges - no one should pay to view public sector contract opportunities.

Further detail on key changes and benefits for suppliers can be found on The Procurement Act 2023: Short guides page.