Procurement Act 2023: UK Procurement Reform Explained
The Procurement Act 2023 is the UK’s single regulatory framework for public procurement, replacing four EU-derived regulations that had governed UK buying since the 1990s. It received Royal Assent in October 2023 and took effect on 28 October 2024, applying to all public procurement in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Definition
The Procurement Act 2023 is a UK Act of Parliament that creates a single, unified legal framework for public procurement. It replaced four separate EU-derived statutory instruments: the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. The Act applies to contracting authorities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland — Scotland has its own procurement legislation under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and did not adopt the new Act.
The Act was the UK government’s opportunity to redesign public procurement from first principles after Brexit, rather than simply carrying forward EU rules. Its stated objectives are to deliver value for money, maximise public benefit, treat suppliers equally and without discrimination, and act with integrity. The legislation is accompanied by secondary regulations, Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs), and guidance from the Cabinet Office that fill in the operational detail.
The competitive flexible procedure
One of the most significant changes in the Procurement Act 2023 is the introduction of the competitive flexible procedure as the default procurement method. This replaces the previous menu of open procedure, restricted procedure, competitive dialogue, competitive procedure with negotiation, and innovation partnership with a single flexible framework.
Under the competitive flexible procedure, contracting authorities design their procurement process to suit the specific contract, choosing how many stages to include, whether to negotiate, and how to evaluate. This gives buyers far more discretion than the prescriptive EU procedures allowed. For suppliers, this means each procurement may follow a slightly different process — reading the procurement documents carefully to understand the specific steps is more important than ever. The open procedure (single-stage, no negotiation) and limited tendering (direct award in certain circumstances) remain as separate options, but the competitive flexible procedure is expected to become the norm for the majority of above-threshold procurements.
New notice types and transparency
The Procurement Act 2023 introduced several new notice types that significantly increase procurement transparency. Pipeline notices require contracting authorities to publish a rolling 12-month forecast of their planned procurements above £2 million, giving suppliers unprecedented advance visibility. Preliminary market engagement notices signal that a buyer is consulting the market before committing to a formal procurement.
Transparency notices apply to certain below-threshold contracts, expanding the volume of visible opportunities beyond the traditional above-threshold publication requirements. Contract details notices, key performance indicator (KPI) notices, and contract change notices create an ongoing public record of how contracts are performing after award. Collectively, these new notices mean that Find a Tender now publishes substantially more procurement data than the previous TED/Contracts Finder system — creating opportunities for suppliers who monitor systematically.
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The debarment register
The Procurement Act 2023 established a new central debarment register, maintained by the Cabinet Office, listing suppliers who are excluded from competing for public contracts. Exclusion can be mandatory (for convictions including fraud, bribery, money laundering, modern slavery, and certain tax offences) or discretionary (for poor past performance, national security concerns, or professional misconduct).
Before the Act, each contracting authority made its own exclusion decisions with limited visibility into decisions made by other authorities. The central register creates a shared record that all contracting authorities must check before awarding contracts. For suppliers, this means that a mandatory exclusion in one procurement effectively bars you from all UK public contracts until the exclusion period ends. The register also includes an ‘investigated supplier’ status, where the Minister can flag suppliers under investigation even before a final exclusion decision is made.
Impact on suppliers and how to prepare
For suppliers, the Procurement Act 2023 brings several practical changes. The competitive flexible procedure means procurement timelines and processes will vary more between contracts, requiring careful reading of each procurement’s specific rules. Pipeline notices provide a valuable 12-month planning horizon that didn’t exist before — monitoring these notices on Find a Tender should become part of every BD team’s routine.
The new transparency requirements mean more data is publicly available about existing contracts, their performance, and upcoming re-procurements. This is a goldmine for competitive intelligence and pipeline planning. The 30-day payment terms requirement (already in practice but now legislated) benefits SME cash flow. Standstill periods have changed from the previous EU model, and challenge rights have been updated — understanding the new remedies regime is important for suppliers who may need to contest procurement decisions. Jorpex monitors Find a Tender for all notice types introduced under the Act, including pipeline notices, delivering matching opportunities and advance signals to your Slack channel or email.