The much anticipated Procurement Act 2023 has been pushed back to the 24th of February 2025, but that doesn’t mean buyers and suppliers can hang up their coats and wait for the live date to come around. Far from it. This is the time when they pick up the pace so they are absolutely prepared for the changes in procurement law.
A quick recap
Some of the key changes introduced by the new Procurement Act include:
Value over price. Suppliers must provide maximum economic, social, and environmental value to contracting authorities and their local communities.
Increased transparency. Buyers share more contract information with suppliers about current tenders and future opportunities.
More opportunities for SMEs. Contracting authorities must be mindful of any barriers that disadvantage small businesses and medium-sized enterprises in the tender process. They must remove barriers to enable SMEs to compete fairly for government contracts.
Two tender procedures. Buyers can award contracts using the open procedure, which is a single-stage procedure (restricted procedure).. Or they can use the new Competitive Flexible Procedure, which is a multi-stage procedure or an open procedure plus another feature, like a product demonstration.
Dynamic Markets replace Dynamic Purchasing Systems. Public bodies publish a Dynamic Market Notice with all the information suppliers need to decide if they’re going to submit a bit.
Detailed tender feedback. Buyers must provide more detailed, constructive feedback that helps suppliers be better prepared for future bids.
Practical Steps For Buyers To Comply With February 2025 Procurement Changes
With four months to go before the Procurement Act 2023 goes live, contracting authorities don’t have any excuses for being ill-prepared. But what steps can buyers take to ensure they are well prepared?
1) Understand the Act inside out and backwards. It might be a bit of a schlep but you’ll be thankful down the road. Include supporting procurement documents as per the Cabinet Office.
2) Review your current contract procedures, internal processes, and policies and update them to comply with the new procurement regulations. Crown Commercial Services (CCS) recommends you review the following:
- Current and future commercial activity.
- Standard procurement procedures and policies.
- Staff training.
3) Update your procurement documents. CCS has guides to help you through the process.
4) Take advantage of Transforming Public Procurement Knowledge Drops from the Cabinet Office. They’re short presentations with a version specifically for SMEs and VCSEs (voluntary, community, and social enterprises).
Supplier Preparation For The Procurement Act: How To Comply With New Procurement Standards
Suppliers, like contracting authorities, can take steps to prepare for changes in procurement rules or law. The first step is the same.
1) Understand the new Procurement Act fully and adjust policies and procedures to comply with new processes and practices.
2) Heed the new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) from the Labour government because its priorities don’t necessarily match the previous government. This can result in changes to the broad range of types of contracts and opportunities available and can also alter evaluation criteria.
3) Leverage existing relationships with contracting authorities to learn about the direct changes that will affect your business.
The Importance of Social Value
Perhaps the most important step for suppliers to take is to become intimately familiar with social value procurement requirements.
Aim for:
Job creation. Suppliers can provide employment to local residents. This has positive knock-on effects for the local economy.
Skills development. Suppliers can set up apprenticeships or development programmes that provide skills training. They benefit from a workforce trained in their processes, while community members are equipped with skills that improve their employment prospects.
Community well-being. This is related to job creation and skills development because a higher employment rate for skilled workers improves community well-being. But there’s more to it than that.
Social value initiatives can focus specifically on the community, for example, upgraded recreational facilities and community support programmes, like mobile libraries or old folks’ transport services.
Why the emphasis on social value?
Social value does more than uplift disadvantaged communities. It’s a powerful, versatile tool the government can use to meet sustainability goals (Net Zero by 2050), improve economic resilience, and foster innovation.
Take innovation, for example. When suppliers must make their social value initiatives stand out, they need to put on their thinking caps to come up with ideas that meet social value requirements while also aligning with the contracting authority’s objectives and values.
Sustainability is another of the government’s priorities that can be addressed through innovative social value projects. Think of sustainability in construction. The aim is to incorporate sustainability and energy efficiency wherever possible. To do this, suppliers might have to think outside the box to solve energy distribution challenges throughout the build.
Incorporating Social Value in Bid Writing
It’s one thing to have an exceptional social value project waiting in the wings, it’s another to sell the project in the bid.
Here are 8 tips to help suppliers grab government buyers’ attention.
- Determine the buyers’ priorities, for example, sustainable energy or community well-being.
- Tailor your response to demonstrate how your policies and practices align with their priorities. Provide evidence of past performance or achievements.
- Quantify the impact of your initiative using assessment tools like the TOMS (National Themes and Outcomes) Framework.
- Provide a plan that monitors and evaluates the impact of your project.
- Provide long-term benefits that go beyond the life of the contract.
- Encourage community engagement and partner with local organisations or nonprofits to increase the impact and extend the reach of your project.
- Emphasise sustainability, energy efficiency, and waste management – anything that establishes your green credentials.
- Embrace transparency and be open and honest about the project, keeping lines of communication open with all interested parties.
Transparency in Procurement
Consumers demand transparency and accountability from the private sector and the public sector is no different. In fact, transparency and accountability are even more important in the public sector where blurry lines are treated with suspicion and mistrust, especially because taxpayers’ money is involved.
Transparency also applies to competition for public contracts. Suppliers are more willing to bid on tenders if they know that the playing field is level and everyone is held to the same standard. All interested suppliers have the same access to detailed contract information, which speeds up procurement processes and saves costs.
Suppliers can find information on the government’s Contracts Finder and independent eTendering portals, like Delta eSourcing. Contracts Finder is a single publishing portal that lists all available contract opportunities, as well as early market engagement notices so suppliers can plan ahead.
3 Tips to Hit Transparency Goals
1) Take advantage of pre-market engagement, including market consultations between suppliers and buyers. It helps refine contract criteria and set procurement procedures.
2) The contract notice must be crystal clear and include all relevant details, including the timeline, steps in the tender process, specs, realistic requirements, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Additional requirements include skills, security and quality certifications, certifications, and weight attached to each section.
3) Keep communication channels open, preferably a single official channel, where buyers can publish procurement and contractual notices according to the timeline provided in the Prior Information Notice (PIN). The channel should record all communication to avoid misunderstandings later.
eSourcing Platforms Navigate Compliance Requirements
We briefly mentioned eSourcing or eTendering platforms as a way to ensure transparency, but they do more than that. For example, Delta eSourcing provides compliance tools for buyers and suppliers. It provides a platform for buyers to publish contract notices, manage tender exercises, conduct collaborative procurements and manage and engage suppliers.
This helps public sector buyers ensure compliance with the new Act’s requirements and avoid penalties for non-compliance.
Services for suppliers include company promotion, contract response, template storage, and the tools to become an accredited supplier. This helps suppliers continue their procurement journey while remaining compliant with the new Act.
Challenges Posed By The Procurement Act 2023
Each business is unique and will find parts of the new Act challenging in their own way, but there are three primary challenges that small and medium-sized businesses will have to overcome.
1) Adapting business processes to ensure complete compliance with the new Act. Many suppliers – and buyers – have tailored their business processes to align with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. While the PCR still holds sway for the time being, businesses must figure out how they’re going to comply with the whole new regime of government procurement law.
2) Understanding procedural changes so they can navigate the new frameworks and dynamic markets with confidence.
3) Increased collaboration with local and central government bodies and departments to facilitate better problem-solving and innovation. This is new to experienced suppliers who haven’t had much direct involvement with contracting authorities.
Now What?
It’s (probably) safe to assume that you’ve already done your prep work for the October go-live date for the Procurement Act. However, as we’ve seen, there’s no such thing as being over-prepared, especially when taxpayers’ money is at stake.
So, to recap.
Ensure you thoroughly understand the new Act; all its terms, conditions, regulations, eligibility criteria, social value and sustainability goals, thresholds, procurement procedures … You get the idea.
Brush off your communication and collaboration skills and put on your thinking cap so you can already start looking for opportunities for creative thinking and innovation.
Remember you don’t have to do it alone. Contact Delta eSourcing for guidance and advice on all aspects of public sector procurement, including all important compliance requirements. You can also book a free demo to explore practical solutions for your business. When you’re ready, register as a supplier and gain access to over 2700 active public sector buyers.
