Regulations and compliance
Procurement Act 2023
Written by Justin Cesman, CEO of Skim. Last reviewed:
- Definition
- 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.
Key takeaways
- The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, replacing the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 with a single regime.
- The previous procedures collapse to two: the open procedure (a single-stage process) and the competitive flexible procedure, which lets buyers design a bespoke, multi-stage process — so no two procurements need run the same way.
- Most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) becomes most advantageous tender (MAT), signalling that price need not dominate and quality and social value can carry real weight.
- The selection questionnaire (SQ) is replaced by the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), and suppliers register core details once on the central digital platform to reuse across bids.
- Transparency runs the full lifecycle through new notices — including pipeline notices and preliminary market engagement notices — and a published debarment list can bar high-risk suppliers for up to five years.
How it works
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, when new rules governing public procurement went live across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It consolidates four separate regimes — the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 — into one set of rules. Procurements that began before 24 February 2025 continue to run under the old regulations, so for a transitional period both regimes operate in parallel and bidders must know which one applies to any given opportunity.
The biggest procedural change is the move to just two competitive tendering procedures. The open procedure is retained as a single-stage process in which any interested party can submit a tender. Everything else folds into the competitive flexible procedure, which lets a contracting authority design and run a bespoke process — with optional stages for dialogue, negotiation, or demonstration, and the ability to limit numbers across rounds. There is no longer a restricted procedure, competitive procedure with negotiation, or competitive dialogue as distinct named routes. The award test also changes in name and emphasis: the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) becomes the most advantageous tender (MAT), reinforcing that contracts need not go to lowest price and that quality and social value can carry genuine weight.
Supplier-facing mechanics change too. The selection questionnaire (SQ) is replaced by the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), and suppliers register core business details once on the central digital platform — the enhanced Find a Tender service plus a new supplier information service — to reuse across multiple bids. Transparency is embedded across the lifecycle through new notice types, including pipeline notices that signal a buyer's planned spend ahead of time and preliminary market engagement notices that flag pre-procurement market engagement. A central debarment list, maintained by a Minister of the Crown, can exclude high-risk suppliers from covered procurements for up to five years.
Timings are also standardised. The mandatory standstill period is now 8 working days in all cases, beginning the day the contract award notice is published, replacing the previous 10-calendar-day rule. Oversight sits with a new Procurement Review Unit, and strengthened prompt-payment provisions extend 30-day payment terms through the public sector supply chain.
PCR 2015 vs Procurement Act 2023 — key differences
| Feature | Public Contracts Regulations 2015 | Procurement Act 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Legal framework | Four separate regimes (public, utilities, concession, defence/security) | One consolidated regime |
| Competitive procedures | Open, restricted, competitive procedure with negotiation, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership | Open procedure plus the competitive flexible procedure |
| Award basis | Most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) | Most advantageous tender (MAT) |
| Supplier qualification | Selection questionnaire (SQ) | Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), details reused via the platform |
| Standstill period | 10 calendar days | 8 working days in all cases |
| Transparency notices | Contract and award notices | Adds pipeline and preliminary market engagement notices across the lifecycle |
| Excluding poor suppliers | Case-by-case exclusion per procurement | Central published debarment list, up to 5 years |
Under the Procurement Act 2023
Reviewed
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025 and now governs most public procurement in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) — alongside the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 — continue to apply only to procurements commenced before 24 February 2025. Anything started on or after that date follows the Act. Because long procurements and frameworks carry over, both regimes run in parallel during the transition, so the 24 February 2025 boundary is the single fact that determines which rulebook applies to any given opportunity.
Sources: Procurement Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk) · GOV.UK — The Procurement Act 2023: a short guide for suppliers · GOV.UK — Transforming Public Procurement
Why it matters for bidders
The Procurement Act 2023 changes how every UK procurement is shaped, judged, and won. The competitive flexible procedure means buyers can build bespoke, multi-stage processes, so bidders can no longer assume any two tenders run the same way — the edge goes to suppliers who can read each procedure and adapt fast. The shift from MEAT to MAT, and the lifecycle of new notices, also leaks more signal than before: pipeline notices reveal planned spend months ahead, and richer award data exposes who is actually winning under the new rules. The teams behind Skim have won £3bn+ in UK and EU public contracts across 40 years, and that experience says the same thing every regime change does — the bidders who treat the rule change as intelligence, not paperwork, are the ones who pull ahead while competitors are still reading the guidance.
How Skim helps
Skim's Opportunity Discovery agent monitors the central digital platform and every UK and EU portal for new notices — including the pipeline and preliminary market engagement notices introduced by the Act — and flags which opportunities run under the Procurement Act 2023 versus the legacy regulations, so your bid approach matches the rules that actually apply. Its Buyer Intelligence agent reads each buyer's notices and award patterns under the new regime, so you understand how a contracting authority is using its new procedural freedom before you commit to the bid.
Frequently asked questions
- When did the Procurement Act 2023 come into force?
- The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, when new rules governing public procurement went live. Procurements started before that date continue under the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015, so both regimes run in parallel until those older procurements complete.
- What does the Procurement Act 2023 replace?
- The Procurement Act 2023 replaces four separate regimes with one set of rules: the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. It applies to procurements commenced on or after 24 February 2025.
- What is the competitive flexible procedure?
- The competitive flexible procedure is a new route under the Procurement Act 2023 that lets a contracting authority design its own multi-stage process — adding dialogue, negotiation, or demonstration stages as needed. Alongside the open procedure, it replaces the restricted, competitive dialogue, and negotiated procedures of the old regime.
- What is the difference between MEAT and MAT?
- Under the Procurement Act 2023, most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) is renamed most advantageous tender (MAT). The change drops the word economically to reinforce that contracts need not go to lowest price, giving quality, social value, and other non-financial criteria clearer weight in award decisions.
- Has the standstill period changed under the Procurement Act 2023?
- Yes. The Procurement Act 2023 sets a mandatory standstill period of 8 working days in all cases, beginning the day the contract award notice is published. This replaces the previous 10-calendar-day standstill under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
- What is the debarment list under the Procurement Act 2023?
- The debarment list is a published list, maintained by a Minister of the Crown, of suppliers excluded or excludable from covered procurements following investigation. A supplier placed on it can be barred from public contracts for up to five years. It is published on gov.uk under the Procurement Act 2023.
Sources
Related terms
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.
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.
Light touch regime(LTR)
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.
Framework agreement
A framework agreement is a multi-year arrangement between one or more public sector buyers and one or more suppliers that sets the terms — pricing, quality, delivery — for contracts awarded during its life. A framework is not itself a contract for work; the individual call-off contracts placed under it are.
Award notice
An award notice is a public notice confirming the outcome of a procurement — naming the winning supplier, the contract value, and the number of tenders received. Under the Procurement Act 2023 the term splits into two notices: a contract award notice published before the contract is signed, and a contract details notice published after.
Call-off contract
A call-off contract is the individual, legally binding contract a public sector buyer places with a supplier under a framework agreement or dynamic market. The framework sets the rules; the call-off is the actual order, with its own scope, value, duration, and deliverables.