Procurement Act 2023

United Kingdom legislation

Procurement Act 2023Act of Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Long title| An Act to make provision about procurement.
Citation| 2023 c. 54
Introduced by| Jeremy Quin, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Commons)
The Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office (Lords)
Dates
Royal assent| 26 October 2023
Commencement| On royal assent and by regulations.

Status: Partly in force

History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Procurement Act 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Procurement Act 2023[1] (c. 54) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The act seeks to overhaul public procurement law in the United Kingdom by simplifying processes and giving a greater share of public sector supply opportunities to small businesses. It is one of the most radical reforms affecting businesses since Brexit:[2] the UK Government sees it as "throwing complicated and bureaucratic EU rules into the bin [and] stripping back red tape".[3] The government held a consultation in 2023 on how to implement the act's provisions including by supplementary provision by regulations.[4]

## Parliamentary passage

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The bill for the act was introduced to the House of Lords by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 11 May 2022 and had its third reading in the House of Commons, after being introduced by Jeremy Quin, on 13 June 2023. The act was significantly amended when travelling through Parliament and there was a stand-off with both Houses during the wash-up period leading up to the 2023 prorogation of Parliament about the final form of the act and whether organ harvesting should be included in the act. The act was finally agreed to on 25 October 2023 and received royal assent on 26 October 2023.[5]

A proposal allowing for companies who engage in forced organ harvesting to be excluded from public procurement opportunities was added during the bill's passage through the House of Lords, but later withdrawn because the broader provisions on professional misconduct would already cover this issue.[6]

## Training

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An "official learning and development offer for central government and the wider public sector" was launched in September 2023. The offer includes overview level training for suppliers as well as basic and advanced training for public sector procurement practitioners.[7] The first tranche of overview training, referred to as "Knowledge Drops", was made available in December 2023.[8] Other training on the act is available commercially.

## The Procurement Regulations 2024

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The Procurement Regulations 2024[9] (SI 2024/692) made provision about the public procurement regime under the act. It required transparency under the act, by requiring significant amounts of information for contractors and other applicants seeking a contract.

## Delay to entering into force

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In April 2024, the Cabinet Office announced an intended "Go Live" date for the act of 28 October 2024.[10] However, following the 2024 general election, the incoming Labour government announced a delay in implementation, until 24 February 2025.[11]

## References

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1. ^ "Procurement Act 2023".
2. ^ "Small businesses to benefit from one of the largest shake ups to procurement regulations in UK history". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
3. ^ This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence: Cabinet Office, Op-ed: New procurement rules will strengthen our national security, originally published in the Daily Telegraph, published 30 October 2023, accessed 15 November 2023
4. ^ "Part 2 Consultation on draft regulations to implement the Procurement Bill". GOV.UK. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
5. ^ "Parliamentary Bills".
6. ^ UK Parliament, Procurement Bill completes passage through Parliament, published 26 October 2023, accessed 12 November 2023
7. ^ Government Commercial Function, Transforming Public Procurement: Official learning and development offer for central government and the wider public sector, published September 2023, accessed 5 February 2024
8. ^ Womble Bond Dickinson, Procurement Act 2023: Government launches first guidance and training initiatives, published 11 December 2023, accessed 5 February 2024
9. ^ "The Procurement Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
10. ^ url=https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/procurement-and-contracts/402-procurement-news/57158-cabinet-office-confirms-planned-go-live-date-of-28-october-2024-for-new-procurement-regime
11. ^ Gould, G., Procurement Act 2023: Update Statement made on 12 September 2024, Statement UIN HCWS90, accessed on 6 October 2024