The Procurement Act 2023 introduces transformative changes to UK public procurement. This article, based on insights from the DWF webinar on 21 January 2025 (presented by James Lupton (Director), Elinor Jackson (Senior Associate) and Alice Gilman (Solicitor), summarises key provisions, procedural updates, and their legal impact on authorities and operators.

The UK Government has introduced PPN 015 and PPN 018 to improve payment practices for major contracts, aiming to address late payments, enhance cash flow, and support SMEs.

Greater oversight of procurement in the UK could save an estimated £500 million in taxpayer money, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

The Cabinet Office has announced this morning that the  Procurement Act 2023 (the "Act") will now come into force on 24 February 2025 (a delay of nearly four months). This article considers the reasons for this delay and the potential impact on contracting authorities and suppliers.

We consider to what extent the Procurement Act 2023 applies to Scotland, as well as how UK government bodies will conduct procurements in Scotland in light of the new Act. 

The report, published by the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel (the Panel), finds that the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC) breached procurement regulations when selecting a provider for online ADHD assessments.

The UK Government has now enacted secondary legislation which means the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) will come into full force on 28 October 2024. We recommend that contracting authorities now start the process of updating their processes and procedures, as well as upskilling staff, to ensure they are ready for the transition to the new rules. 

In Teleperformance Contract Ltd v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another [2023] EWHC 2481 (TCC), the High Court granted an application to lift the automatic suspension on entering into four contracts. Central to the judgment was whether losses suffered by group companies (not just the bidder) could be considered when assessing whether an entity could be adequately compensated by damages at trial.

The Procurement Bill is set to substantially reform the public procurement rules applicable to public bodies in the UK. In this article, our Public Sector experts consider the Bill's commencement and ongoing regulatory consultation.

On 9 March 2023, the Cabinet Office and Crown Commercial Service published a new standard Selection Questionnaire and updated its statutory guidance by way of Procurement Policy Note 03/23 ("PPN 03/23"). In this article we consider the impact of this upon contracting authorities and how it will change procurement processes. 

In this article, we discuss the new selection criteria requirements introduced by the Cabinet Office in Procurement Policy Note 06/21 ("PPN 06/21"), the impact these measures will have on contracting authorities and suppliers and how consistent compliance by these entities will help to achieve the UK government's target of Net Zero by 2050.

In the case of Bechtel Limited v High Speed Two (HS2) Limited [2021] EWHC 458 (TCC), the High Court examined the merits of a procurement challenge relating to allegations of manifest errors, unlawfully modified contracts and breaches of transparency.