When did the Procurement Act 2023 come into force?

The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent in October 2023 and came into force on 24 February 2025. Procurements started on or after that date are run under the Act. Procurements that began earlier continue under the previous regulations until they finish.

Which regulations did the Procurement Act 2023 replace?

For new procurements it replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. Contracting authorities in Scotland carrying out devolved procurement continue to follow Scottish regulations.

What is the Central Digital Platform?

The Central Digital Platform is the government's online system, accessed through the Find a Tender service, where suppliers register and share core information such as company details, connected persons and exclusion declarations, and where buyers publish the notices required by the Act. Suppliers must be registered to take part in procurements under the Act.

What does MAT mean under the Procurement Act?

MAT stands for most advantageous tender. Under the Act, contracts are awarded to the tender that best satisfies the buyer's award criteria, assessed using the methodology set out in advance. It replaced the previous MEAT (most economically advantageous tender) wording and gives buyers clear scope to weigh quality, social value and other factors alongside price.

What is the standstill period under the Procurement Act 2023?

For most contracts the standstill period is eight working days, starting when the contract award notice is published. Unsuccessful suppliers receive an assessment summary explaining how their tender was assessed, which they can use to decide whether to challenge or to improve future bids.

Does the Procurement Act 2023 help SMEs?

It aims to. Buyers must have regard to the barriers SMEs face, conditions of participation must be proportionate, buyers must consider lotting, and 30 day payment terms are implied into public contracts and flow down the supply chain. Below threshold contracts also have simpler rules.

Procurement Act 2023: A Supplier's Guide (Updated 2026)

The Procurement Act 2023 is the biggest change to UK public procurement in a generation. It came into force on 24 February 2025 and now governs new procurements by public bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you bid for public contracts, it affects how you find opportunities, how you register, how you are assessed and what is published about your performance after you win.

This guide explains the Act from a supplier's point of view and links to our detailed guides on every part of it.

The Procurement Act 2023 in Brief

One regime instead of four. For new procurements, the Act replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. Scottish devolved bodies continue to use Scottish rules.
Commencement. Procurements started on or after 24 February 2025 follow the Act. Earlier procurements, and frameworks let under the old rules, continue under the previous regulations.
Objectives. Buyers must have regard to delivering value for money, maximising public benefit, sharing information and acting, and being seen to act, with integrity. They must also have regard to the barriers that small and medium sized enterprises face.
National Procurement Policy Statement. Published in February 2025, it sets out the government's strategic priorities that buyers must have regard to, including economic growth, social value and supporting small businesses.

Before the Tender: Planning and Engagement

Under the Act, buyers publish more information earlier. Larger contracting authorities must publish pipeline notices listing upcoming contracts, and buyers can run preliminary market engagement and publish a notice about it. For suppliers, this is a chance to shape requirements and plan capacity before the tender notice appears.

Registration: The Central Digital Platform

Suppliers must register on the Central Digital Platform, accessed through the Find a Tender service, and share core supplier information with buyers. This replaces much of the repetitive form filling of the old selection questionnaire. Keep it accurate and current, because buyers rely on it and inconsistencies raise questions.

Procedures: Open and Competitive Flexible

The Act offers two competitive procedures:

Open procedure: a single stage tender that any supplier can respond to. See our open procedure strategy guide.
Competitive flexible procedure: a procedure the buyer designs, which can include a selection stage, negotiation, dialogue, presentations and multiple rounds. See our competitive flexible procedure guide.

Direct award is permitted only in limited circumstances, with transparency requirements attached. For how to respond once you have the documents, see our ITT guide.

Award: Most Advantageous Tender

Contracts are awarded to the most advantageous tender (MAT), assessed against award criteria and an assessment methodology the buyer sets out in advance. In practice this gives buyers clear room to value quality, social value and wider public benefit, not only price. Write to the published criteria and weightings.

SMEs and Lots

The Act requires buyers to consider whether a contract could be split into lots and to explain if they decide not to. Conditions of participation must be proportionate, and below threshold contracts have simpler, lighter rules. Together these changes are designed to make public contracts more accessible to smaller suppliers.

Commercial Tools: Frameworks and Dynamic Markets

Frameworks remain central to public buying, and the Act adds open frameworks, which can be reopened to new suppliers at set points. Dynamic markets replace dynamic purchasing systems, allowing suppliers to join at any time if they meet the conditions.

Exclusions, Debarment and National Security

The Act sets out mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds and introduces a central debarment list, published by government, of suppliers that must or may be excluded. Suppliers can avoid exclusion by showing the circumstances are unlikely to occur again, so honest disclosure and evidence of remediation matter. National security is an explicit discretionary exclusion ground, and some procurements carry specific national security requirements.

After Submission: Assessment Summaries and Standstill

When a buyer decides to award, it publishes a contract award notice and gives each supplier that submitted an assessed tender an assessment summary explaining how its bid was scored. For most contracts there is then a standstill period of eight working days before the contract can be entered into.

Related: assessment summaries and how to use them and transparency notices

After Award: Contract Management and Transparency

The Act carries transparency into the life of the contract:

KPIs. For contracts above £5 million, buyers must normally set at least three key performance indicators and publish performance against them at least annually.
Contract performance notices. Buyers publish information about breaches and poor performance in certain circumstances.
Payment. Thirty day payment terms are implied into public contracts and must flow down the supply chain, and buyers publish payment compliance information.
Changes. Contract modifications are subject to rules and, often, to contract change notices.

This means your delivery record is more visible to future buyers than ever before, and so is everyone else's.

What Suppliers Should Do Now

Register and maintain your Central Digital Platform record, and make sure your bid library says the same things.
Watch pipeline and engagement notices for your key buyers so you can plan capacity and influence requirements.
Write to MAT. Read the award criteria and assessment methodology closely and put your effort where the marks are.
Prepare your exclusion story. If anything in your history could be relevant, document the remediation now.
Treat delivery as your next bid. KPI and performance information is published, so strong delivery becomes evidence and weak delivery becomes a risk.
Pay your supply chain on time. Thirty day terms flow down, and payment performance is visible.

Official Sources

For the legal text and government guidance, see the Procurement Act 2023 on legislation.gov.uk and the Procurement Act 2023 guidance collection on GOV.UK. This page is a practical summary, not legal advice.

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