The new Pubic Sector Procurement Act 2023 – came into law in February 2025.
Now new public sector procurement legislation came into force on the 24th Feb 2025. The new Public Sector Procurement Act is the fourth regime of public sector procurement in the modern era. Public sector procurement accounts for about one third of all Government expenditure.
Cabinet Office Minister, Georgia Gould MP launched the new law on 24 February 2025.
We have seen successive polices in the new era from Compulsory Competitive Tendering, Best Value, PCR 2015 and now the post-Brexit, NHS inclusive, Procurement Act 2023. Its worth saying that the new law unlike some of the highly controversial Compulsory Competitive Tendering, carries consensus across parties have been initiative by the Conservatives and executed with a few sweaks by Labour. This matters as suppliers and customers need stability.
To get started, have a look at the Government advise at “The Public Sector Act 2023: A sort guide for suppliers (HTML)[1] It’s also useful, as you will want to know how to find a tender, to look at the official Procurement Review Unit. [2]
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/the-procurement-act-2023-a-short-guide-for-suppliers-html
[2] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/procurement-review-unit#full-publication-update-history
So what does it mean?
Public sector procurement accounts for about one third of all Government expenditure: As Minister Lord True told the House of Lords at the Second Reading of the Bill;
“Public procurement is one of the most important and influential duties of Her Majesty’s Government: £1 in every £3 of public money—some £300 billion a year—is spent on public procurement. Imagine the power of the most efficient and effective use of that money every year. Imagine the extra small businesses that we could help to hire more workers, expand their operations and contribute to the wealth of this nation. Imagine the efficiencies that we could achieve so that we could spend more on our National Health Service and other vital public services[1]”.
The new Act introduces a new supplier selection regime, based on principles including non-discrimination, fair treatment, value for money, maximising public benefit, transparency, and integrity.
VfM is the core principle which public sector decision makers MUST be able to demonstrate. There is also a new requirement which makes public sector buyers take a broad view and take account of the national strategic priorities set out in the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS).
The NPPS asks public authorities to consider wider public benefits, such as creating new (local) jobs, tackling climate change, improving the diversity of their suppliers, and innovation throughout the procurement process. It also allows authorities to support local community priorities through public purchasing.
This being a post-BREXIT law, the new regime brings together four previous sets of procurement regulations, which transpose EU Directives into a single UK law for contracts, awarded by most central government departments, their arms-length bodies and the wider public sector including local government, health authorities and schools
- utilities contracts by utilities operating in the water, energy and transport sectors. It would not cover private utilities operating on a competitive market
- concession contracts for the supply of works or services where public authorities give a supplier the right to exploit works or services
- defence and security contracts.
The Act applies to procurement by devolved authorities in Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland, however, maintains its own legal framework.
The Government aims to establish a single portal for accessing procurement data, a public debarment list for excluded suppliers, a ‘tell us once’ system for supplier registration and other innovations.
At UKPL we guide our clients through the political, policy and legalistic processes and work with a huge range of Local Authorities, NHS England and our legal partners, FREETHS, acknowledged as one of the leading centres of excellence on procurement law.
Our experience shows that whilst it is possible to win a tender from a standing start — we have just this month successfully taken market entrant “ThinkCyber” onto the Framework for cybersecurity suppliers in Scotland, their first foray into the UK, it is better to be in at the ground floor. Shaping the strategy and complementing the awarding bodies objectives are more fruitful in the long term for both parties – that’s is why we believe in partnership.
At Wellington Street Partners we are in touch regularly with
+ the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Loal Government and Local Authorities of all persuasions across the Country
+ National Health Service
+ Ministry of Defence
+ Cabinet Office and other departments.
Our principal, Phil Woolas, has been professionally involved in public Sector procurement since 1990 and has helped shape the national and local policy both in percussive Governments and at multiple tender cases across 35 years.
[1] House of Lords Hansard, 25th May 2023 Column 856
