Why does the Procurement Act need a new NPPS?

The NPPS is a statutory statement that allows the Government to set and communicate the wider policy objectives to which it expects public procurement to contribute. This might include, for example, objectives to support economic growth and opening up public contracts to small businesses. It is entirely appropriate, following a change in government, for the new administration to put in place a new NPPS reflecting its new priorities.

What will happen to the one laid in Parliament on 13 May 2024?

The NPPS laid in Parliament on 13 May 2024 was due to come into force on 28 October 2024. It will now be withdrawn and a new NPPS, once drafted and following consultation, will then be laid to complete a 40-day passage in Parliament.

What impact does this have on the Central Digital Platform (also known as FTS) upgrade?

Work on Central Digital Platform (FTS) will continue at pace.  We are reviewing how best to use the time to maximise the test window and the subsequent deployments from the digital team.  We will be sharing more information on digital delivery very soon.

What impact does this have on the Procurement Review Unit?

The Procurement Review Unit (PRU) becomes live on the commencement of the Act and therefore its launch will be delayed until 24 February 2025.  Work will continue at pace with the additional time used to maximise the testing of new protocols and procedures developed. The Public Procurement Review Service will continue as an already established service.

What impact does this have on the National Security Unit for Procurement?

The Unit will become operational upon commencement of the Act.  

What happens to my planned procurement in Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan under the new regime?

If a contracting authority had been planning on commencing a procurement between October and February under the Act, it will need to make a decision whether to proceed with the planned timetable and procure under the existing regulations or to delay the start of the procurement in order to be regulated by the Act. Some contracting authorities choosing this latter approach may be able to restructure their procurement timetables to maintain the planned contract award date, or to sustain a later contract award date.

Contracting authorities who wish to extend an existing contract to cover the gap between the contract award date based on an October 2024-February 2025 procurement commencement and a later contract award date due to the delay to go-live of the Act should consider the terms of their existing contracts and whether an extension is possible under existing procurement regulations.

What impact does this have on the published guidance and guidance that is in the process of being published?

Publication of guidance will continue as planned and all currently published guidance remains valid. You can access our official Procurement Act 2023 Guidance documents here.

I was going to bid for a procurement shortly after go-live on 28 October - what’s going to happen to that?

A number of things could happen:

• the contracting authority may simply delay the procurement until after the new go-live date in February 2025
• another option is that the contracting authority will go to market using the existing legislation, which will be advertised on Find a Tender service as normal
• or the contracting authority could cancel the procurement and use a framework or DPS to procure the goods/service via that route

Suppliers preparing to bid for a procurement that was about to be commenced under the Act should speak to the relevant contracting authority to understand how their plans have changed. 

I’m on a framework due to expire between 28 October 2024 and 24 February 2025, what’s going to happen to that?

It is most likely that those frameworks expiring in late 2024 will already have been re-competed or extended. For those frameworks that are expiring in early 2025 it would have been possible to re-compete in time under the Act if a tender had been issued in November 2024.  

The contracting authority has two options:

• to extend the existing framework where the framework allows and delay the re-procurement until after the new go-live date in February 2025
• go to market using existing legislation, advertising on Find a Tender service as normal

Suppliers preparing to bid for a place on a framework that was about to be commenced under the Act should speak to the relevant contracting authority to understand how their plans have changed. 

There are other actions you can start to take to prepare:

• sign up for regular updates 
• familiarise yourself with the Act - check out the summary documents and videos on the Transforming Public Procurement website
• we are now thinking about our forward pipelines and which procurement projects might benefit from the new flexible approaches, What does the Council buy? | Worcestershire County Council

A key objective for the Procurement Act 2023 was to make it easier for suppliers to do business with the public sector.  

As such there are some core benefits for suppliers once the new regime goes live in October, including:

• a central place to register and to store your core business details so that they can be used for multiple bids
• improved transparency and access to information, with all public procurement opportunities in one place - making it easier to search for and set up alerts for procurement projects of interest to you
• better visibility of procurement plans, engagement events and tender opportunities - including those below threshold - increasing the number of opportunities available to bid on
• greater visibility about who is bidding for, and winning, larger public sector contracts above £5 million, and the details of those public contracts
• simplified bidding processes to make it easier to bid, negotiate and work in partnership with the public sector - including a new ‘competitive flexible’ procedure.
• frameworks will be more flexible, so prospective suppliers are not shut out for long periods of time.
• a new duty on contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing SMEs and VCSEs, and to consider what can be done to overcome them throughout the procurement life cycle, helping level the playing field for smaller businesses so they can compete for more contracts
• strengthened provisions for prompt payment throughout the supply chain - enabling SMEs to benefit from 30 day payment terms on a broader range of public sector contracts
• a stronger exclusions framework will take tougher action on underperforming suppliers
   

This is a long-term change, so although these benefits may not be visible on day one, we are confident that the new regime will help break down barriers to entry into procurement.

Our Commercial Team is now working through the necessary training and guidance materials so we are ready to operate under the new regulations and realise the benefits of the new regime when it goes live.

The Cabinet Office will continue working with leading business groups and trade associations to make sure information is available for suppliers.

There is already a range of information and resources about the new regime on the Transforming Public Procurement website. 

If you haven’t already- we strongly recommend you watch the ‘Knowledge Drop’  videos with dedicated versions designed specifically for suppliers, including SME and VCSE suppliers. These will give you a broader understanding of the changes which will be coming.

Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) will be known as Dynamic Markets under the new legislation. Existing DPS agreements will continue under the current procurement regulations without any changes for suppliers, but these arrangements must end either by their natural termination date or within four years of the Procurement Act coming into effect, whichever comes first. Any new Dynamic Markets launched after the Act goes live will follow the new legalisation requirement, with contracts for over-threshold amounts awarded under the updated system. Further details will be provided during market engagement and in tender notices to guide stakeholders through the transition.