New legislation aiming to modernise the UK’s public procurement system doesn’t come along very often. The Procurement Act 2023 has been some time coming, after being subjected to delays since being announced by the previous government, which said it would be one of the biggest changes in UK procurement history.
It came into force on 24 February, but is it going to do much to improve the UK’s woeful public procurement regime that is regularly slammed in reports from the Public Accounts Committee, the National Audit Office and others?
It is no doubt a major reform affecting contracting authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that applies to all of the £407 billion of public procurement. It is seen as a key part of the current government’s drive to maximise the value of public spending, boost economic growth and provide social benefits. It is hailed in some quarters as a major post-Brexit reform that will cast off the shackles of European Union derived rules.
The Act is also to make procurement more transparent as well as more efficient. Guidance issued by the government says the Act is supposed to particularly benefit small businesses, start-ups and social enterprises. Public bodies have been given new objectives such as delivering value for money, sharing of information about procurement processes and contract performance more openly, and acting with integrity. There will be a greater focus on both strategic procurement and sustainability.
Simplified procedures and flexibility introduced by the Act allow procuring authorities to tailor procedures that better meet their specific needs. Reduced complexity and administrative burden should result.
Simplified bidding processes are to make it easier to bid, negotiate with and work for the public sector. A bugbear of losing bidders has been the limited amount of feedback they get after spending time and money on bidding. This is addressed by introducing greater transparency throughout the procurement lifecycle. This focus on transparency is one of the biggest changes. It obliges contracting authorities to publish multiple notices – a total of 16 – during the procurement and contract management process.
Launch of a new central digital platform will mean that key business details can be stored and used for multiple bids, cutting bidding costs by enhancing transparency and accountability. The platform is to make registration as simple as possible. Using it, small businesses and social enterprises will be better able to compete for public sector contracts.
A new Procurement Review Unit (PRU) will maintain and build upon the existing Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS), which will allow issues to be addressed regarding public procurement practices. The PRU will comprise three services – the existing PPRS, a procurement compliance service and a debarment review service.
Suppliers with poor compliance records, poor performance histories, legal violations and those posing national security risks will be excluded under the new debarment regime. Debarred suppliers will have the right to appeal the decisions. Key performance indicators will be published and how suppliers are performing in relation to them will be reported.
It will take some time to assess how the new regime works in practice, but there isn’t much focus on addressing the key failings of UK public sector procurement, which stem from a lack of professionalism among project managers that has been repeatedly highlighted in reports. The Act will treat some procurement problems, but it is no cure for the underlying condition.
Nick Barrett
Editor