It is the final few days before the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) goes live on Monday 24 February 2025. In the lead up to this a flurry of new documents have been issued. We have summarised what these are and what you need to know below.  

National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS)  

What is it? 

The new NPPS has been published and can be found here. This sets out the Government’s priorities for public procurement and comes into force on the same day as the Act. The priorities are driving economic growth, delivering social and economic value and ensuring commercial capability and standards are in place.   

What do I need to know? 

Under the Act, contracting authorities have a duty to have regard to the NPPS in relation to all procurements. This includes above and below threshold procurement, direct awards (where a contract is awarded without a procurement process or framework) and the award of exempt contracts. Contracting authorities should ensure having regard to the NPPS forms part of their procurement processes and that they document how they have had regard to the NPPS in a procurement. Note that the NPPS does not apply to call off contracts under frameworks.  

Procurement Act 2023 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025   

What is it? 

This is part one of a number of statutory instruments that implement the Act. These Regulations make some changes to the Act itself and the Procurement Regulations 2024.  

What do I need to know?  

If you have saved a copy of the Act or the Procurement Regulations 2024, make sure you update this with the new version, as amended by these Regulations. Key changes to be aware of are: 

• Threshold updates – this simply inserts the current thresholds which apply now into the Act (as they have changed since the Act was first drafted in 2023) so this will not be a change to current practices, but do make sure you are not referring to the thresholds in the originally published Act as these are out of date.   
• The requirements to detail Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Contract Details Notice and publish information about performance against the KPIs in the Contract Performance Notice have been amended to confirm that this relates to the three most material KPIs at the time of the relevant notice. This brings the Procurement Regulations 2024 in line with the guidance previously issued stating this. Be aware that although contracting authorities will need to set and publish KPIs for procurements commenced under the Act, the provisions relating to the assessment of contract performance do not come into force on 24 February 2025. The date when these provisions will apply is to be confirmed so this is one to watch.  
• The mechanism for calculating the percentage of activities and turnover for the vertical and horizontal exemptions has now been added to the Procurement Regulations 2024. 

Guidance Electronic Invoicing and Payment 

What is it?  

Technical guidance which can be found here regarding electronic invoicing and the payment terms which are implied into contracts.  

What do I need to know?  

The Act implies terms into above and below threshold contracts around acceptance of electronic invoices and the 30 day timescale for paying invoices. The terms will be implied into new contracts, but contracting authorities may wish to update any standard terms and conditions used for procurements commenced under the Act to reflect these implied terms. ensure contract managers and finance teams are aware of the requirements and that reporting on compliance with the payment terms will be required in the future (see below).   

Guidance - Payments Compliance Notices 

What is it?  

Technical guidance which can be found here regarding the requirement to publish a six monthly payments compliance notice on the Central Digital Platform detailing the contracting authority’s compliance with the invoice payment obligations under the Act for above threshold contracts.

What do I need to know?  

The new payments compliance notice does not come into force with the rest of the Act on 24 February 2025, as the notices are being phased in. Contracting authorities should keep a lookout for further guidance around when this will apply, but in the meantime, make sure your finance team reviews this new guidance so that it is ready. The reporting requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 around payments continues to apply for now.  

Find a Tender & Central Digital Platform Availability 

What is it?  

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that the Find a Tender platform will be unavailable from 5:30pm on Friday 21 February, until go live to make updates.  

What do I need to know?  

Contracting authorities intending to publish a contract notice under the current regime, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, before the Act goes live will need to ensure this is done in good time before 5:30pm on Friday, 21 February.  

How Capsticks can help  

Capsticks acts for both contracting authorities and suppliers. With extensive knowledge of procurement law, our specialist team are always on hand to support you with all aspects of the procurement process and how to carry out procurement in compliance with the new Procurement Act 2023.
Please speak to Katrina Day or Mary Mundy to find out more about how Capsticks can help.