The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October; the link to the Act has now been published
It has been stated that:
- The Procurement Act 2023 will come into force in October 2024 (date to be confirmed).
- The secondary legislation that will sit under the Procurement Act 2023 will be laid before Parliament in early 2024. These regulations will contain some of the detail as to how the Act will work in practice.
During the implementation phase, we will be providing updates on what the Procurement Act 2023 will mean in practice for contracting authorities now that the content has been agreed by both Houses.
The Act, when in force, will replace the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The detail of the new provisions will need to be grappled with, but we know that, for example, there will be new terminology, new processes, greater transparency (increases in the requirements to publish notices), new rules on frameworks, new standstill requirements, and new rules on contract modifications. There will also be transitional provisions that will deal with the transition between the current Regulations and the new Act.
Before the Act comes into force, contracting authorities should continue to apply the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
If you have any questions about the Act, please get in touch with our procurement team.