It’s time to act on procurement

The Procurement Act 2023, which has just come into force (24 February), presents a huge opportunity to increase simplicity, transparency and opportunity, which will help to ensure the public purse is best utilised – making this an important moment in time.

With central government continuing to unveil substantial plans for development of infrastructure, communities and public services, the time is now for everyone to pull together and help realise the potential for public procurement to provide value for money, economic growth and social value.

Contracting authorities and suppliers must now embrace the new regime and its objectives with lasting behavioural change to ensure it delivers on its potential. We’ve identified some key areas of change and advice on how to adapt.

Notices

The new notices will drive transparency, increasing inclusion and enabling greater scrutiny of procurement decisions and contract performance to maintain high standards. For suppliers and especially SMEs, there will be greater opportunity to engage in upcoming procurements while tracking progress and performance.

Contracting authorities will need to invest time into their procurement resources or engage with agents like Pagabo to deliver their frameworks, but increased administrative burden may be offset by the simpler system aiming to reduce duplication.

Procedures

The new mechanisms aim to create maximum flexibility for procurement solutions and reduce barriers to entry. For suppliers, appropriate training will be required to ensure bid teams are aware of the changes and where to access information. Suppliers are encouraged to engage with contracting authorities to contribute to pre-procurement planning stages and support the design of procurement solutions.

Contracting authorities are encouraged to collaborate with the supplier market and utilise preliminary market engagement to determine the most appropriate route to market and ensure their internal policies and procedures align with the new mechanisms.

Exclusion and debarment

The discretionary and mandatory exclusion grounds remain very similar, targeting non-compliance and poor performance, but the scope widens under the act. The act’s launch also establishes a new Procurement Review Unit, which is based within the Cabinet Office. It has responsibility for oversight of public procurement and consists of three services – Public Procurement Review Service, Procurement Compliance Service and Debarment Review Service.

Contracting authorities are now required to review and verify applications against the live debarment register and any notices detailing unsatisfactory performance for each procurement opportunity. There is some nervousness around this, but there are several robust steps that must be completed prior to a supplier being placed on the debarment register.

Suppliers are encouraged to review their supply chains to ensure no organisation poses unacceptable risk. Policies and procedures should also be subject to a levelling up exercise to ensure the correct governance is in place.

Performance

Procurement performance is a core focus of the procurement reform and therefore it formalises and strengthens some of the existing requirements.

There will be increasing analysis of the entire procurement lifecycle, from pre-procurement through to contract performance via the publishing of new notices, and suppliers will be assessed on whether things are performing as intended within bids.

Greater access to information will provide a higher level of visibility and could potentially increase opportunity or damage chances depending on what performance data shows.

Challenges

The provisions remain broadly the same, but there are some changes to the challenge process, including changing the standstill period to eight working days. Contracting authorities must provide all bidding organisations that have been assessed with feedback in the new assessment summary format, aiding industry betterment by enabling suppliers to improve future bids.

There are two pieces of advice for suppliers. The first is to thoroughly digest all feedback using the assessment summaries provided. The second is to flag confidential information within bids, to ensure it isn’t shared with other bidding parties and reducing competitive edge.

Help is available

These are just some of the changes to be aware of. You can continue transitioning to a more successful future in procurement by using the various free government resources available online. If used, the resources should establish greater levels of practical understanding and confidence within procurement teams.

It is also important to familiarise yourself with the new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which all contracting authorities must have regard to as mandated by the Procurement Act – with a few exceptions.

We’re encouraging everyone to consider learning more and challenging their existing approach to projects that involve public and private sector collaboration.

To learn more about the procurement reform, visit www.pagabo.co.uk/procurement-reform