The UK Procurement Act 2023: What Suppliers Need to Know

Whether you are an established government contractor or an SME entering the market, understanding these changes is essential. This guide breaks down the key changes and gives you a clear action plan.

Why the Change?

After Brexit, the UK was no longer bound by the EU procurement directives (2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU, and 2014/23/EU). The Public Contracts Regulations 2014, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, all derived from EU law, remained in force as retained legislation, but the government saw an opportunity to design a procurement system tailored to UK priorities.

The Act aims to simplify procedures (from seven to three), increase transparency through a central digital platform, open procurement to SMEs, embed value for money and integrity, speed up timescales, and improve contract management. The Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance on implementation.

Timeline: When Does It Take Effect?

The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The implementation timeline has been structured to give both buyers and suppliers time to prepare:

• October 2023: Royal Assent
• 2024: Training rollout, guidance publication, systems development
• 24 February 2025: Go-live date for the new regime
• Transitional provisions: Procurements commenced before the go-live date continue under the old regulations

From the go-live date, all new procurement processes must follow the Procurement Act 2023. The old regulations continue to apply only to procurements that were already in progress.

If you are currently bidding on tenders published before the go-live date, those tenders follow the old rules. But any new opportunities published after go-live are governed by the new Act.

The New Procurement Procedures

One of the most significant changes is the simplification of procurement procedures. The old regime had seven different procedures (open, restricted, competitive dialogue, competitive procedure with negotiation, innovation partnership, negotiated without publication, and design contest). The Procurement Act replaces these with three primary procedures.

1. Open Procedure

The open procedure works much as it did before. The contracting authority publishes a notice, and any interested supplier can submit a tender. There is no pre-qualification stage, everyone who submits is evaluated.

The Act allows authorities to assess tenders in any order and reject non-compliant tenders at any stage. Open procedures remain the most accessible route, no pre-qualification means lower barriers, though competition can be intense.

2. Competitive Flexible Procedure

This is the flagship innovation of the new Act. The competitive flexible procedure replaces the restricted procedure, competitive dialogue, competitive procedure with negotiation, and innovation partnership, all rolled into one adaptable framework.

Contracting authorities can design their own multi-stage process, combining elements as they see fit:

• An initial selection stage to shortlist suppliers
• One or more rounds of negotiation or dialogue
• A best and final offer stage
• Any combination that the authority considers appropriate for the specific procurement

What is new: The flexibility is the headline change. Authorities are no longer constrained by rigid procedural rules about when they can negotiate, how many rounds of dialogue they can have, or how they structure their evaluation.

What it means for suppliers: You need to read the procurement documents more carefully than ever. Each competitive flexible procedure may be structured differently. The authority will set out its process in the tender notice and associated documents. Do not assume the process will follow the pattern you are used to.

The competitive flexible procedure also creates more opportunity for dialogue and negotiation with the buyer. If you are invited to negotiate, prepare thoroughly, this is your chance to demonstrate understanding of the requirement and refine your offer.

3. Direct Award

The Act formalises the circumstances under which a contract can be awarded without competition. Direct award is permitted in specific situations, including:

• Where only one supplier can deliver the requirement (genuine exclusivity)
• In cases of extreme urgency
• Where the contract value is below the threshold
• For user-choice contracts (such as social care)
• Switching from a competitive process that has failed

What is new: The transparency requirements around direct awards are significantly strengthened. Authorities must publish a transparency notice before making a direct award (except in urgent cases), giving other suppliers the opportunity to challenge.

What it means for suppliers: If you learn of a proposed direct award to a competitor that you believe should have been competed, you have a clearer mechanism to challenge it. Monitor the new central platform for transparency notices.

Dynamic Markets: Replacing Dynamic Purchasing Systems

Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS), a familiar tool in EU procurement, are replaced by a new concept called Dynamic Markets.

What Changes

• Terminology: DPS becomes "dynamic market"
• Flexibility: Dynamic markets can include a wider range of procurement activities and are not limited to commonly used purchases
• Qualification: Suppliers can still join at any time (this key SME-friendly feature is retained)
• Call-offs: Individual contracts under a dynamic market are awarded through further competition among admitted suppliers

What Stays the Same

The fundamental principle, an always-open arrangement where new suppliers can join throughout the duration, remains. This continues to be one of the best entry points for SMEs and new market entrants.

What it means for suppliers: If you are currently on a DPS, check with the contracting authority how the transition to dynamic markets will work. If you are not yet on any dynamic arrangement, the continued open-admission model means you can apply to join at any time. Bidovate's tender alert system can notify you when new dynamic markets are established in your sector.

Transparency: A Step Change

The transparency provisions in the Procurement Act 2023 represent the most dramatic shift for both buyers and suppliers.

The Central Digital Platform

The Act establishes a requirement for a central digital platform where all procurement information must be published. This replaces the current fragmented landscape of Contracts Finder, Find a Tender, and various devolved portals.

The platform will publish:

• Pipeline notices: Advance warning of planned procurements (at least once per year)
• Tender notices: All above-threshold procurement opportunities
• Award notices: Details of who won, the contract value, and the number of bidders
• Contract details: Key terms, KPIs, and performance information
• Contract amendments: Any modifications to awarded contracts
• Termination notices: When contracts are ended early
• Payment compliance data: Whether the authority is paying suppliers on time

Pipeline notices are a genuinely new feature, authorities must publish annual notices outlining planned procurement activity. This gives suppliers advance visibility often months before the formal tender is published. For SMEs with limited bid resources, this advance intelligence is a significant advantage.

The new regime also requires far more detailed publication of award information, KPI performance metrics, contract modifications, and payment data. This wealth of data feeds directly into your competitive intelligence practice, giving you better market insight than ever before.

New Exclusion and Debarment Grounds

The Act overhauls the exclusion framework, the rules determining which suppliers are banned from bidding.

Mandatory Exclusion Grounds

Suppliers must be excluded if they have been convicted of (or there is evidence of):

• Fraud, bribery, or corruption
• Terrorism offences
• Modern slavery and human trafficking
• Tax evasion offences
• Organised crime
• Offences relating to labour market enforcement

Discretionary Exclusion Grounds

Authorities may exclude suppliers for:

• Poor contract performance (a significant new addition)
• Professional misconduct
• Environmental, social, or labour law infringements
• Competition law breaches
• Insolvency or financial difficulties
• National security concerns

The Act also introduces a centralised debarment list, a public register of excluded suppliers. Poor performance now has consequences across all public procurement, not just with the affected authority. However, self-cleaning provisions allow businesses with historical issues to demonstrate remedial action to avoid exclusion. Due diligence on supply chains matters too, as exclusion grounds extend to connected persons and subcontractors.

Subcontracting Rules

The Act introduces new subcontracting provisions: authorities can assess subcontractors against exclusion grounds, require direct payment to subcontractors (bypassing the prime), and demand greater transparency about who is delivering the work. Primes must ensure their subcontractors can pass exclusion checks. Subcontractors benefit from direct payment provisions that protect against late payment by primes.

KPI-Based Contract Management

The Act places new emphasis on contract management, moving beyond the point of award to how contracts are monitored and managed throughout their life.

What Is New

• Contracting authorities must set and publish KPIs for contracts above a certain value
• Performance against KPIs must be assessed and published
• Poor performance can trigger modification, remedial action, or termination
• Performance data is published on the central platform

What it means for suppliers: Winning the contract is no longer the end of the story. Your performance will be measured against published KPIs and that performance data will be publicly available. Strong performance becomes a competitive asset, you can point to your track record on the central platform when bidding for new work. Poor performance becomes a competitive liability that competitors and authorities can see.

This means you should take KPIs seriously during bid negotiation, invest in contract management capability, and use competitors' published performance data as competitive intelligence.

What Does This Mean for Suppliers Practically?

If You Are an Established Government Supplier

Review your current contracts to understand which fall under the new Act. Update your compliance documentation for the new exclusion grounds. Prepare for KPI scrutiny by investing in performance monitoring. Train your bid team on the competitive flexible procedure. And leverage the enhanced transparency, use pipeline notices and award data to improve your competitive intelligence.

If You Are an SME or New Market Entrant

Monitor pipeline notices, this is the most valuable new tool for planning your bid activity. Use Bidovate's tender alert system to get notified automatically. Register on the central digital platform. Explore dynamic markets as the lowest-barrier entry point. And prepare your evidence: strong case studies, certified management systems, and well-documented past performance are more important than ever.

If You Are a Subcontractor

Check your exclusion ground compliance, as authorities can now assess subcontractors. Understand your direct payment rights under the new Act. Build relationships with primes who need reliable, compliant subcontractors. And consider whether the simplified procedures make it feasible to bid directly for contracts you currently subcontract on.

How Bidovate Helps You Navigate the New Regime

The Procurement Act 2023 creates both opportunity and complexity. More data is published, but it is spread across new platforms and formats. Procedures are more flexible, but each procurement may be structured differently. Transparency is greater, but interpreting the data requires analytical capability.

Bidovate's platform is designed to help suppliers thrive under the new regime:

• Intelligent tender matching: Find relevant opportunities across the new central platform and national portals, including pipeline notices
• Document analysis: Quickly understand the specific requirements of each competitive flexible procedure, which may differ significantly from tender to tender
• Competitive intelligence: Leverage the enhanced transparency data to build detailed competitor profiles and inform your pricing strategy
• Contract monitoring: Track your published performance data and your competitors' KPI results

The suppliers who adapt fastest to the new regime will gain a significant competitive advantage. Those who continue to operate as if nothing has changed will find themselves increasingly outmanoeuvred by better-informed competitors.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Procurement Act 2023 come into force?

The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and went live on 24 February 2025. From that date, all new procurement processes must follow the new regime. Procurements that were already in progress before the go-live date continue under the old regulations (Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and related legislation) until they conclude. The Cabinet Office has published detailed transitional guidance for both buyers and suppliers.

Does the Procurement Act 2023 apply in Scotland?

The Procurement Act 2023 applies to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own procurement legislation, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and associated regulations, which remains in force. However, Scottish procurement law shares many principles with the new Act, including emphasis on transparency, SME access, and social value. If you supply the public sector across the UK, you need to understand both the Procurement Act 2023 and the Scottish regime.

What is the competitive flexible procedure?

The competitive flexible procedure is the Procurement Act 2023's most significant procedural innovation. It replaces four separate procedures from the old regime (restricted, competitive dialogue, competitive procedure with negotiation, and innovation partnership) with a single flexible framework. Contracting authorities can design multi-stage processes combining shortlisting, negotiation, dialogue, and best-and-final-offer stages in whatever sequence they consider appropriate. Each procurement may be structured differently, so suppliers must read the tender documents carefully to understand the specific process for each opportunity.

How does the Procurement Act 2023 affect SMEs?

The Act includes several provisions specifically aimed at improving SME access to public procurement. Pipeline notices give SMEs advance visibility of upcoming opportunities. The competitive flexible procedure allows authorities to design SME-friendly processes with dialogue stages. Dynamic markets retain the open-admission model that allows new suppliers to join at any time. The proportionality principle continues to apply, preventing disproportionate turnover or experience requirements. And enhanced transparency means more data is available for SMEs to research the market and make informed bid decisions.

What should I do to prepare for the new procurement regime?

Start by familiarising yourself with the key changes through the Cabinet Office's guidance materials. Update your compliance documentation to address the new exclusion grounds. Register on the central digital platform. Train your bid team on the competitive flexible procedure. Set up monitoring for pipeline notices in your sector using Bidovate's tender alert system. Review your contract management processes to prepare for KPI-based performance monitoring. And leverage the enhanced transparency data to build your competitive intelligence capability.