What you need to know about the UK Procurement Act 2023 before 24 February 2025
If you are a public sector building, or energy, manager, understanding the new UK Procurement Act 2025 can help you to support your procurement team to ensure that your projects meet your objectives and KPIs.
Delayed from October 2024, the Procurement Act 2023 (The Act) will come into force on 24th February 2025.
The Act introduces significant reforms to the UK's public procurement framework, aiming to enhance flexibility, transparency, and inclusivity in the awarding of public contracts.
Who does it apply to?
- Contracting Authorities (CAs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Suppliers of goods, works, or services to organisations in the public or utility sectors. This includes companies that supply to government departments, the NHS, local authorities, universities, schools, social housing organisations, police and fire brigades and utility companies.
What are the benefits?
The new Act will:
- Simplify the bidding processes to make it easier to specify, bid, negotiate and work in partnership with both procurement and your preferred suppliers to the public sector - including a new ‘competitive flexible’ procedure
- Make commercial frameworks more open, so prospective suppliers are not shut out for long periods
- Require your public sector organisation to provide consistent feedback for suppliers and a requirement to provide bid assessments for final tenders
What are the main Changes?
Supplier Early Engagement
Early engagement with suppliers allows you to directly interact with suppliers and your procurement team to discuss your projects and ensure better outcomes. Indeed the CAs are required to demonstrate that they have made the most of this opportunity.
Competitive Flexible Procedure
With your procurement team, you can design procedures, and make the most of opportunities for innovation and negotiation.
Conflict of Interest Assessments
Conflict of interest assessments of suppliers must be carried out by CAs.
Central Digital Platform (CDP)
The Act legislates for the provision of a CDP to facilitate the publishing of required notices and documents in accordance with the new regulations. The CDP will be an enhancement of the existing Find a Tender service and will make it easier to find and bid for contracts, and for buyers to meet their transparency commitments under the Act. It will:
- Feature a simple registration and identification for both suppliers and buyers
- Store suppliers’ core business details that can be used for multiple bids
- Enable easy management and updating of core information quickly, and shared easily between suppliers, eSenders and buyers
- Make public procurement opportunities visible making it easier to search at no cost and set up alerts for tenders of interest for suppliers
- Allow for procurement noticing throughout the procurement lifecycle
- Capture procurement data and eventually allow the creation of dashboards to analyse that data
Most Advantageous Tender (MAT)
Awards will now be made to the MAT and not the “Most Economically Advantageous Tender” (MEAT) This requires your organisation to be interested in more than the lowest price and to consider other factors such as building performance, energy performance, or social value.
Open Frameworks
The Act introduces the concept of open frameworks, which can be established for up to eight years, provided they are reopened for competition at least once during the first three years and then at least once during each subsequent five-year period. This approach offers you the flexibility to maintain long-term frameworks while periodically refreshing your pool of suppliers.
Dynamic Markets
A key innovation is the establishment of Dynamic Markets (DMs) which will replace the previous Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS). DMs are more versatile and can be utilised for a broader range of procurements beyond commonly used purchases. They function as evolving lists of suppliers who meet specified membership criteria, allowing contracting authorities to conduct procurement processes. Suppliers can apply to join these markets at any time, giving you continuous opportunities for greater choice.
What does it replace?
The act will replace the following:
- Public Contracts Regulations 2015
- Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016
- Concession Contracts Regulations 2016
- Defence and Security Public Contracts 2011
Conclusion
Overall, the Procurement Act 2023 aims to create a more transparent, flexible, and inclusive procurement environment, that gives you the opportunity for greater participation in the procurement of your projects.
Whatever stage you are at in the process, whether you are just beginning to plan a project, or about to go to tender, contact your local Smart Buildings team to discuss how we can help you meet your objectives and requirements.
