The UK Procurement Act 2023 offers a complete legal framework that combines and reforms public procurement regulations in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Officially enacted on October 26, 2023 after receiving Royal Assent, the Act came into force on February 24, 2025. This legislation brings the most important changes to procurement laws in over thirty years. It replaces four separate EU-derived regulations: the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, Defense and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, and Concession Contracts Regulations 2016.
Public sector spending on procurement reaches approximately £385 billion each year. This covers goods such as office equipment and hospital beds, works including infrastructure projects, and services from adult social care to waste management. The UK’s new Act introduces a simpler, more flexible commercial system that meets the country’s needs while following international obligations.
The main goals of the Act include:
The Act creates a new Procurement Review Unit (PRU) to oversee public procurement practices. This unit will engage with contracting authorities and suppliers in different sectors to improve standards and ensure the Act’s provisions work effectively.
Several key changes to procurement procedures appear in the new legislation. The Act sets minimum time limits for competitive tendering procedures in Section 54, allowing shorter timeframes when genuine urgency exists. The concept of “national security” remains undefined deliberately, allowing flexibility in how relevant provisions apply.
High-value tenders above UK Public Procurement Thresholds fall under the Act’s main scope, but it also includes regulations for below-threshold contracts in Part 6. Some procurements don’t need to follow these rules, especially contracts involving defense and security interests, intelligence activities, or those excluded for national security reasons.
Contracting authorities need to prepare well for these sweeping changes as they affect everything from pre-procurement planning to contract management. Small businesses and social enterprises can look forward to new opportunities through easier and more efficient procurement processes.
The UK Procurement Act 2023 revolutionizes public procurement with fresh terms and concepts. These new elements are the foundations of more adaptable, clear, and value-focused procurement processes.
Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) takes the place of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) method from PCR 2015. This update clarifies that price isn’t the only deciding factor in tender awards. MAT emphasizes that cost doesn’t need to outweigh other important aspects. Section 19 of the Act states that MAT is the tender meeting the authority’s needs and award criteria based on their assessment approach. This radical alteration allows authorities to consider wider community benefits such as local employment and reduced carbon emissions.
The Competitive Flexible Procedure replaces older, rigid procedures. Authorities now have the freedom to create procurement processes that work best for them while they can add different elements such as negotiation, dialog, or demonstration phases. The tender notice needs to spell out the exact process and mention if negotiations will take place. Time limits still apply—25 days for participation unless urgent (10 days), with similar periods for tendering that can be shortened in specific cases. This approach works well for standard needs, complex requirements, innovation, and R&D projects.
Authorities must publish a Transparency Notice before awarding contracts without competition, clarifying that what used to be optional now has become mandatory. Regulation 26 requires the notice to cover the authority’s details, procurement title, contract subject, estimated value, and reasons for direct award. This notice assists everyone in understanding why contracts between public bodies and private suppliers bypass competition.
Dynamic Markets are the new, more flexible version of Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS). They act as lists of suppliers who meet specific membership requirements. These markets go beyond just “off-the-shelf” procurement, unlike their predecessors. They stay open throughout the contract period so new suppliers can join anytime and serve for all purchase types except some concession contracts, and use the competitive flexible procedure for awards. Authorities can charge supplier fees if they clearly state this upfront.
The Contract Award Notice tells interested parties about an authority’s plan to sign a contract with chosen suppliers. The Act now requires this notice before signing contracts, which is different from previous rules. This triggers an 8-working-day standstill period, changed from 10 calendar days. Contracts over £5 million need extra details about “assessed tenders” and unsuccessful suppliers. This gives everyone a full picture of award decisions before contracts become final.
2025 brings a major change to public procurement as the UK Procurement Act 2023 takes effect. The new system completely changes how public bodies buy goods and services. Previous multiple regulations now merge into one unified framework.
The legislation creates a single legal structure for public, utility, concession, and defense contracts. Better efficiency, fairness, and value for money stand as primary goals of this Act. Buyers can now meet urgent needs quickly with improved transparency.
Procedural flexibility marks one of the biggest changes in the Act. While keeping the ‘open’ procedure from earlier regulations, it introduces the competitive flexible procedure that doesn’t follow any fixed approach. Public authorities can now design their own procurement processes without strict procedural rules.
The Act requires publishing many more notices to boost transparency. These notices cover pipelines, direct awards, contract awards, and contract performance. Public authorities must also release quarterly reports for payments above £30,000.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) get special attention in the Act. Authorities must look for ways to remove barriers that might stop SMEs from participating. Breaking large contracts into smaller parts creates opportunities for specialist suppliers and promotes competition.
The grounds for supplier exclusion have grown substantially. New mandatory grounds now cover corporate homicide/manslaughter, specific theft offenses, competition law violations, and national security threats. The Act also lets authorities reject suppliers for environmental violations, labor misconduct, contract breaches, and poor past performance.
Contracts worth over £5 million need at least three key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs get reviewed yearly, and their performance data becomes public. This approach makes public procurement more accountable.
The Government Commercial Function helps implement these changes through a complete learning program. Staff members can access knowledge drops, e-learning modules, and detailed webinars that guide them through the new system.
Understanding contract mechanisms is a vital foundation at the time you work with the UK Procurement Act 2023 as a procurement professional.
Let’s explore three central concepts that drive procurement activities.
A call-off contract binds a buyer and supplier legally for services, goods, or works through a framework. Suppliers must complete this contract type before they start work with a public sector organization. The Procurement Act 2023 defines these contracts specifically as those awarded under frameworks.
Call-off contracts spell out everything about deliverables. This includes supply details, delivery schedules, payment structures, insurance needs, contact information, and key performance indicators. These contracts use preset terms and conditions from the framework’s creation, which eliminates drafting new contracts for each procurement.
Framework agreements let public sector organizations buy goods and services from pre-approved suppliers through standard procurement methods. These agreements usually last between 1 and 4 years.
The UK Procurement Act 2023 describes a framework as a “contract between a contracting authority and one or more suppliers that provides for the future award of contracts by a contracting authority to the supplier or suppliers”. Public sector requirements, pre-evaluated supplier lists, and standard contract terms are the foundations of these frameworks. Product or service types often divide frameworks into lots to help specialized procurement.
The UK Procurement Act 2023 changes some terms; for example, “Direct award” becomes “award without competition,” and “further competition” changes to “award with competition.”
Award without competition means placing orders straight with suppliers without any competitive process. This option exists only under specific conditions. The framework must have an objective supplier selection method and core terms for call-off contracts. Supplier selection might rotate among approved vendors.
Awarding with competition needs framework suppliers to compete for selection. The framework must clearly define this process. The Procurement Act 2023 allows contracting authorities to create competitions ranging from single-stage to multi-stage processes.
The UK Procurement Act creates a two-part compliance system that won’t apply to older contracts. New agreements must follow the Procurement Regulations 2024. Agreements made under the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015 will continue under those rules. Organizations need to track each contract’s origin carefully to stay compliant.
Contracting authorities should plan ahead for contracts that expire after the new rules start and assess which rules apply to each procurement activity based on when the commercial agreement started.
The Act creates stricter compliance standards by adding more exclusion grounds. Mandatory exclusions now include suppliers who risk reliable delivery, effective competition, public confidence, public funds, or protection of public interests. The authorities also have the flexibility to deal with other concerns through discretionary exclusions.
The debarment mechanism brings a major breakthrough in compliance. A Minister of the Crown can add suppliers to a public debarment list if they meet exclusion criteria. The new Procurement Review Unit (PRU) manages this list and oversees all public procurement.
As the new system pays more attention to tax compliance, suppliers face mandatory exclusion for “deliberate” tax penalties from the past five years. This rule applies to associated individuals, intended subcontractors, and their connected individuals. It includes penalties for tax document errors and failures to notify tax authorities. The government has published detailed guidance documents that explain every part of the new system.
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