The Procurement Act 2023 will go live on 24 February. Now is the time for councils and their elected members to understand what the act means for them.
Councillors need not be procurement professionals, but getting to grips with the fundamental changes coming into play, and being able to scrutinise and ask the right questions, is increasingly important to ensure councils get the best value for money.
The new regulations are aiming to deliver quicker, simpler and more transparent processes. They will make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises, and voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations to compete, and will be tougher on suppliers that don’t deliver.
If these ambitions are achieved, the act will help councils ensure that budgets are well managed and that best value is achieved across council revenue and capital expenditure.
The Procurement Act 2023 will redefine many aspects of the procurement process.
It is one of the most significant shake-ups of procurement policy in a generation and will be accompanied by a National Procurement Policy Statement that sets out government’s strategic priorities for public procurement.
According to the UK Government, one in every three pounds of public money, around £300 billion a year, is spent on public procurement – a statistic that demonstrates the sheer scale of the transformation at hand. Of this, councils in England report spend of around £85 billion.
Any regulatory reform has its challenges, and doubly so in a marketplace as diverse and expansive as the UK public sector.
The new procurement regime offers potential value and competition, and can assist decision-making, but it may seem a daunting prospect to councils operating under already tight capacity.
Key elements of the Procurement Act 2023 include:
- procurement notices – notice requirements will be part of each stage of the procurement process, to allow full transparency across the procurement lifecycle, from planning to tender, contract award, contract management and termination.
- centralised digital platform – a new platform for public procurements, to encourage transparency across public sector tendering by bringing all available information together.
- training and guidance – the Government offers a free training package to help public sector organisations implement the new rules.
More than 5,000 procurement officers in local government have already undertaken this training. Further information and short guides for senior leaders can be accessed on gov.uk, at ‘Procurement Act 2023: short guides’.
Public sector procurement organisations – council-owned, socially responsible and non-profit – can support local authorities as they navigate the upcoming change.
Procurement reform presents challenges for public sector organisations, requiring councils to adapt while balancing limited resources. Effective procurement is vital for easing budget pressures, delivering cost savings and achieving public service goals.
Collaborating with public sector procurement organisations will provide councils with essential expertise and streamline processes. These partnerships can reduce administrative burdens, improve financial outcomes, and support local priorities, such as sustainability and job creation.
By leveraging partnerships with public sector procurement organisations, councils can manoeuvre through this reform more effectively, unlock financial and social value, and create capacity to focus on delivering quality services to their communities.
- The YPO is publicly owned by 13 local authorities. Please visit the LGA’s procurement hub for resources, information and support on implementing the Procurement Act 2023.