Procurement procedures
Light touch regime(LTR)
Written by Justin Cesman, CEO of Skim. Last reviewed:
- Definition
- The light touch regime (LTR) is a simplified UK procurement regime for specified social, health, education, and similar services delivered to people. It applies a far higher threshold — £663,540 including VAT — and lets buyers design their own award process instead of following the standard procedures.
Key takeaways
- The light touch regime applies only to services named in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024 by CPV code — health, social care, education, certain legal, postal, hospitality, and cultural services delivered to people.
- The LTR threshold is £663,540 including VAT, against £135,018 (central government) and £207,720 (other authorities) for standard goods and services from 1 January 2026 — so far more LTR work is procured below threshold under even lighter rules.
- Unlike the £135,018 and £207,720 standard thresholds, the £663,540 light touch figure is fixed and does not move with the two-yearly currency revision, so it stayed unchanged on 1 January 2026.
- Buyers can run the open procedure or design their own competitive flexible procedure, and there is no mandatory standstill period for a light touch contract — each procurement can look different.
- A tender notice (flagged as light touch) and a contract award notice are still required, so LTR opportunities remain visible on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.
How it works
The light touch regime covers a defined list of services delivered directly to individuals — health and social care, education, certain legal services, postal, hospitality, and selected cultural and community services. Under the Procurement Act 2023 the covered services are set out in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024, identified by their CPV codes; the scope is broadly the same list the regime carried under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
The defining feature is a far higher threshold. A light touch contract is only covered if its estimated value exceeds £663,540 including VAT — against £135,018 for central government and £207,720 for other contracting authorities on standard goods and services from 1 January 2026. Below £663,540 the procurement falls outside the covered-contract rules entirely and is run under even lighter requirements. The light touch figure is also fixed: it is not subject to the two-yearly currency revision that lowered the standard procurement thresholds on 1 January 2026, so it has stayed at £663,540 since January 2024.
Above the threshold, the procedural flexibility is real. The buyer must still publish a tender notice that identifies the contract as light touch and a contract award notice, but they can use the open procedure or design their own competitive flexible procedure to suit the service. There is no mandatory standstill period for a light touch contract (section 51), key performance indicator publishing is disapplied, and mid-contract modifications face fewer restrictions.
For SMEs delivering these services, the regime is both an opportunity and a frustration. The flexibility lets buyers build in local knowledge and social value, and the higher threshold and use of lots open the door to smaller local providers. But less standardisation means each buyer's process can differ, so there is no single playbook for what a light touch procurement will ask of you.
Light touch regime vs standard procurement
| Feature | Light touch regime | Standard procurement |
|---|---|---|
| Covered-contract threshold (from 1 Jan 2026) | £663,540 (inc. VAT) | £135,018 central gov / £207,720 other authorities |
| Threshold revised every two years? | No — fixed at £663,540 | Yes — adjusted for currency (lowered on 1 Jan 2026) |
| Award procedure | Open procedure or buyer's own competitive flexible procedure | Open or competitive flexible procedure under set rules |
| Mandatory standstill period | No (voluntary, 8 working days) | Yes — 8 working days minimum |
| Services covered | Schedule 1 list — social, health, education, by CPV code | All other goods, services, and works |
Under the Procurement Act 2023
Reviewed
The light touch regime survives the reform but is restructured. Procurements started before 24 February 2025 follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, where the LTR sat in Schedule 3; those started on or after that date follow the Procurement Act 2023, where the covered services are now listed in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024 by CPV code and the rules are called light touch contracts. The 2020 Green Paper had floated abolishing the regime, but it was retained. Under the Act the threshold is £663,540 including VAT — unchanged on 1 January 2026 because, unlike standard thresholds, it is exempt from the two-yearly currency revision — there is no mandatory standstill period (section 51), and buyers may use the open procedure or a self-designed competitive flexible procedure.
Sources: GOV.UK — Guidance: Light Touch Contracts · GOV.UK — PPN 023: 2026 Threshold Amounts · Procurement Act 2023, section 9 (legislation.gov.uk)
Why it matters for bidders
If your services sit under the light touch regime, you are competing in a different landscape. The £663,540 threshold means a large share of the work is procured below it under even lighter rules, and the procedural freedom means each buyer may run a different process — so the discipline that wins is reading the actual award pattern, not the headline. From published award notices you can see which providers a buyer has actually appointed for these services, at what values, and how often they re-procure, then weight your bid towards the evaluation criteria and social value that decide LTR awards. That award-data reading, drawn from teams who have won £3bn+ in UK and EU public contracts, turns a fragmented, low-visibility regime into a targetable pipeline.
How Skim helps
Skim's Opportunity Discovery agent tracks light touch tender notices across every UK and EU portal and flags them distinctly from standard procurements, so you can adjust to the lighter procedural requirements and the absence of a standstill. Its Buyer Intelligence agent reads a buyer's historical LTR award notices — who they appointed, at what value, how often — so you can focus on the evaluation criteria that actually decide social and health service awards.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the light touch regime in procurement?
- The light touch regime is a simplified UK procurement regime for specified social, health, education, and similar services delivered to people. It applies a higher threshold of £663,540 including VAT and lets buyers design their own award process rather than following the standard procurement procedures.
- What is the light touch contract threshold for 2026?
- The light touch contract threshold is £663,540 including VAT, effective from 1 January 2026. Unlike standard procurement thresholds, it is fixed and not adjusted for currency every two years, so it remained unchanged from its January 2024 level rather than being lowered.
- Which services fall under the light touch regime?
- The light touch regime covers services named in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024 by CPV code: health and social care, education, certain legal services, postal services, hospitality, and selected cultural, community, and security services. These are services delivered directly to individuals or groups of people.
- Did the Procurement Act 2023 abolish the light touch regime?
- No. A 2020 Green Paper proposed removing it, but the light touch regime was retained and restructured under the Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025. Covered services now sit in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024 and the rules are referred to as light touch contracts.
- Is there a standstill period for light touch contracts?
- No mandatory standstill period applies to a light touch contract under section 51 of the Procurement Act 2023, though buyers may observe a voluntary standstill of at least eight working days as best practice. This contrasts with standard procurements, where an eight-working-day standstill is required.
Sources
Related terms
Procurement thresholds
Procurement thresholds are the financial values, set in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Act 2023 and revised every two years, that decide which rules a UK public contract follows. A contract estimated at or above the threshold (including VAT) triggers full regulated procurement; below it, lighter rules apply.
Public Contracts Regulations 2015(PCR 2015)
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) are the UK statutory instrument (SI 2015/102) that governed public procurement in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland from 26 February 2015. PCR 2015 still applies to procurements commenced before 24 February 2025, when the Procurement Act 2023 took over.
CPV codes(CPV)
CPV codes — the Common Procurement Vocabulary — are a standardised set of nine-digit numbers that public sector buyers use to classify the subject of a contract notice. Maintained by the European Union and retained by the UK after Brexit, CPV codes let suppliers search and filter procurement portals consistently.
Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 is the law governing most UK public procurement, in force since 24 February 2025. It replaces the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and three other regimes with one set of rules, introducing the competitive flexible procedure, a central digital platform, and a published debarment list.