Procurement Act 2023 delay
The commencement of the Procurement Act 2023 has been delayed until 24th February 2025. We have been informed that the delay is due to the Government reviewing the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS). In a statement, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office Georgia Gould said: “It is crucial that the new regime in the Procurement Act goes live with a bold and ambitious Statement that drives delivery of the Government’s missions, and therefore, I am proposing a short delay to the commencement of the so this work can be completed. I am confident that the extra time to prepare will allow for a more seamless transition, ensuring a smoother and more effective implementation process for both contracting authorities and suppliers."
We sat down with Mary Mundy, Partner at Capsticks to understand how the delay will impact procurement organisations.
The delay in the commencement of the Procurement Act and the Government’s review of the National Procurement Policy Statement allows procurement teams more time to get prepared and ensure everyone has completed any necessary training and teams are fully up to speed on the key features of the Act and the different requirements.
There are a number of key areas of the Procurement Act that members should continue to prepare for, this includes the various notices that will be required to publish at each stage of the procurement lifecycle, changes to the standstill period, the replacement of standstill letters with assessment summaries, KPIs and publication requirements for performance of suppliers against KPI’s, breaches, failure to perform and terminations.
The delay also created opportunities for public procurement organisations to look at their pipelines over the next few months and determine which route would best benefit the procurement and resulting contract. Organisations might want to consider starting a procurement under the current Public Contracts Regulations 2015; for example, you might want to set up a DPS under the PCR as the drafting of Dynamic Markets in the Act sets out that below threshold contracts can’t be awarded under a Dynamic Market.
There are a number of things to be aware of in the transition stage in terms of which legislation will apply. Procurements that commence under the PCR must be conducted under these rules; however, procurements that commence after the Procurement Act comes into force on or after 24th February 2025 must be conducted under the Procurement Act.
Further updates on the commencement of the Procurement Act 2023 will be shared as they become available.
You can read all of NOE CPC’s blog series about the Procurement Act here.