The Procurement Act 2023

Public procurement law is changing. The reforms will improve the way procurement is carried out. This is so that every pound goes further for our public services.

If your business supplies goods, works or services to North Somerset Council – or hopes to do so – you need to know about these changes.

The new Procurement Act will benefit suppliers of all sizes. In particular it will support start-ups, scale-ups and small businesses. It will create a central digital platform. This platform will allow suppliers to

• register and store their details
• view open opportunities all in one place
• apply for multiple bids

A new simplified bidding processes will make it easier to bid, negotiate, and work in partnership with the public sector.

We expect the new regime to go live on 24 February 2025.

The existing rules will continue to apply for procurements already in progress. Please be aware these changes won’t happen overnight.

Resources showing the key benefits of the Procurement Act

These short guides provide 

• a high-level overview of the key features of the Procurement Act
• timelines for implementation
• next steps for Contracting Authorities and Suppliers

Transforming Public Procurement – knowledge drop videos

These short videos are designed to provide an overview of the Procurement Act 2023 for three types of audiences

• contracting authorities
• suppliers who deliver contracts to the UK public, utilities and defence sectors
• small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs)

Transforming Public Procurement programme

The Transforming Public Procurement programme aims to improve the way public procurement is regulated.

It aims to

• create a simpler and more flexible, commercial system that better meets our country’s needs while remaining compliant with our international obligations
• open up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses and social enterprises so that they can compete for and win more public contracts
• embed transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle so that the spending of taxpayers’ money can be properly scrutinised.

The GOV.UK website 

• explains what the new procurement regime will mean
• provides more detail about the learning and development programme that is supporting its introduction
• provide further guidance for both contracting authorities and suppliers