Notices under the New Procurement Act 2023 – implications for contracting authorities and private sector tenderers

Introduction

The Procurement Act 2023 (“PA2023”), introduced to streamline and modernise procurement processes, has brought significant changes to the way contracting authorities and private sector tenderers deal with each other. A key feature of this new Act is the emphasis on transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in the procurement process.

One of the biggest changes relates to the notices that contracting authorities must publish both during the tender process and after award. Whilst this is an aid to transparency, it does impose a significant extra regulatory burden on contracting authorities. However, it does also ensure that suppliers have better visibility not only throughout the tender process but also during the contract management process after award. This is likely to provide a greater opportunity for suppliers to scrutinise the actions of contracting authorities and, where necessary, to challenge its decisions.

Notices under the Procurement Act 2023

Under the PA2023 which came into effect on 24th February 2025, contracting authorities are required to publish several types of notices at various stages of the procurement process. Each new procurement could require the publication of up to 14 procurement notices during its lifecycle. These notices include:

Preparation stage

Pipeline Notice: if a contracting authority considers they will pay in excess of £100m for contracts of goods and services in the upcoming financial year, then the publication of a mandatory Pipeline Notice 56 days prior to commencement of the financial year is required. It must set out information about public contracts with an estimated value of over £2m each.

Planned Procurement Notice: this notice is optional and intends to show that a public body intends to publish a tender notice in the future.

Preliminary Market Engagement Notice: if a contracting authority wishes to undertake prior market engagement, they are required to publish a Prior Market Engagement Notice or provide reasons for conducting prior market engagement in the tender notice. This is a change from the former Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“PCRs”) which did not require, but allowed, the publication of such notice.

Procurement stage

Tender Notice: where a contracting authority wishes to award a public contract via a competitive procedure, then the publication of a Tender Notice is mandatory and commences the procedure. This is the equivalent to the current contract notice under the former PCRs and the UCRs.

Transparency Notice: if a public body contracting authority wishes to make a direct award, it is mandatory to publish a Transparency Notice. Under the previous regime this was voluntary.

Below Threshold Tender Notice: where a contracting authority intends to advertise for the purpose of inviting tenders for a below threshold procurement over £12,000 including VAT for central government authorities and over £30,000 including VAT for all other contracting authorities, it must publish a Below Threshold Tender Notice prior to advertising such a contract.

Procurement Termination Notice: subject to certain exceptions, including private utilities contracts, it is mandatory to publish a Termination Notice. This is the case if, after publishing a tender or transparency notice, the contracting authority decides not to award the contract.

Contract award

Contract Award Notice: this is a mandatory notice published at conclusion of the procurement stage and before entering the contract. It sets out the contracting authorities’ intention to award a public contract. Contracting authorities are required to provide a summary of the contract to each supplier similar to the current standstill letter but satisfying the new requirements in the Act before publishing the contract award.

Contract Details Notice: once a contract has been awarded it is mandatory to publish this notice.

Below-Threshold Contract Details Notice: the contracting authority must publish a notice when awarding a relevant below threshold contract.

Contract Change Notice: it is mandatory for a contracting authority to publish this where it enters into an above-threshold modification to a contract already awarded. This imposes a far wider requirement compared to the requirements under the former PCRs. The old regime only requires contract modification notices in limited circumstances. However, no notice is required where the modification does not increase or decrease the value of the contract in the case of supply for goods and services contracts, by 10% or less or, in the case of works contracts, 15% or less.

Contract Termination Notice: there is a new requirement under the PA2023 to publish a notice of contract termination within 30 days of the contract termination date, whether termination is due to expire or otherwise.

Payments Compliance Notes: there is a new mandatory payment compliance notice which must show contracting authorities have complied with 30-day payment terms.

Contract Performance Notice: subject to certain exceptions, including the award of utility contracts where a contracting authority has included Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) in contracts with a value of over £5m, the contracting authority must publish its assessment of the supplier’s performance against those KPIs at least once every year. This must include information about breaches of contract or poor performance.

Implications of Notice Publication

The introduction of these notices under the PA2023 holds several key implications for both contracting authorities and private sector tenderers. One of the main goals of the PA2023 is to enhance transparency and accountability in public procurement.

For contracting authorities, adhering to these publishing requirements ensures that the procurement process is open to scrutiny, fostering public trust and confidence. For private sector tenderers, it offers an opportunity to understand and challenge the procurement process in appropriate cases creating a more level playing field.