Following its implementation on the 24th of February 2025, for the last year the UK has now officially moved award from the EU-derived regulations (i.e. Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015)) to the Procurement Act 2023 (PCA2023). Any authorities who began procuring a specific goods or services before this date would typically have continued under the old regulations so many suppliers will have to operate and navigate two differing regimes for the immediate term.
In this blog we work to set out what this new legislation is trying to achieve, the key differences between this and the PCR 2015 and what suppliers will have to do differently once the dust has settled from the transition to the PCA2023.
What is the PCA2023 trying to achieve?
The UK’s new procurement legislation is fundamentally designed to both simplify and speed up the purchasing of goods and services. It is also working to achieve greater transparency and a more UK-specific framework rather than simply mirroring the previous EU directives which has historically seen a notable amount of our strategic public sector contracts being awarded overseas. Another key theme is that there will now be more information published and publicly available throughout the bid-lifecycle, not just at Contract Notice and Award Stage, as well as designed flexibility in how we run our procurement competitions.
What are the biggest differences compared to PCR2015?
- Procedures and Flexibility
Under the previous procurement rules and regulations, suppliers in the UK would have become accustomed to multiple strict procedures, including open, restricted, competitive procedure with negotiation, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership, etc. With this new legislation, there will be two distinct procedures that can be adopted by local authorities, central government and even the NHS:
- Open procedure
- Competitive flexible procedure (CFP)
The headline change is very much the introduction of CFP which allows contracting authorities to design its own process that meets their specific requirements, such as a Staged Dialogue. However, throughout their own process they must respect the new rules and expectations set out in the legislation such as equal treatment and transparency in communication. Additionally, all required notices throughout the procurement period must also still be published and made publicly available.
- Transparency: more of it at every stage.
More visibility is stipulated (end-to-end) toward the procurement process and the set of notices that must be published by all contracting authorities has been expanded to support this. Find a Tender has been used as the central platform to facilitate this transparency and notice publications, with Bid Teams seeing all of these notices as greater market intelligence to shape bid strategies and pipelines beyond [only] Contract Notices. For example, as performance information is published you can begin to factor in under-performing contracts into your pipeline as they may return to the market earlier than planned.
- Contract Management, KPIs and Performance is more public-facing.
Another significant shift is that contracts are no longer only a two-way relationship between buyer and supplier. The public now has key visibility on ongoing contract delivery through mandated contract performance notices which publish information on performance against KPIs (where such rules apply) and a record of certain performance failures and breaches.
This means that delivery performance, and evidence thereof is more valuable than ever before, both in terms of a ‘right to win’ as well as a safeguard of future competitiveness.
- Direct Awards are still possible
The new regulations do still permit direct awards in specific situations but there must be Transparency Notices made public before such an award is made. The allows authorities to fully inform the market of their decision and the justification behind it.
- Supplier assessment/exclusion more structured and visible
The new PCA2023 retains familiar concepts around excluding suppliers for common reasons typically queried during PPQs and SQs, however there are new mechanisms to make sharing core information and exclusion criteria across multiple bid submissions, including the Central Digital Platform. There is also a newfound emphasis on not only having policies but you need to be able to articulate and evidence how they are operated and implemented in practice.
- Modifications and Lifecycle Control
The Act is now explicitly framing procurement as something that spans beyond Contract Award into mobilisation and ongoing contract management, with strict obligations for transparency across the life of the contract. Contract change and governance sit closer to the overarching regulatory framework than they had previously under PCR2015.
What does this mean for Bid Teams?
- Agility is needed within your bid process.
Now that CFPs have been introduced, and these can be configured to meet the specific needs of the contracting authority, Bid Teams need to be able to respond flexibly to changes in procedure and also the procurement timeline.
This means that you need to prepare for likely stages to be adopted under CFP, negotiation positions, red lines and pricing options that can flex by stage.
- Transparency is an asset, not unnecessary administration
You and your team should plan and schedule routine monitoring of relevant notices. You can use this to identify incumbency signals, evaluation preferences, and even spot where performance is lacking and may signal early re-entry to market and where that may influence future procurement decisions. If you know, for example, performance in a certain area has been seriously lacking, you can expect a focussed lens on this in the questions the authority asks in their next tender process.
- Delivery Evidence is more important than ever before
If you haven’t already, you must invest in a significant evidence library consisting of:
- KPI frameworks, reporting packs, benefits realisation examples
- Actioned mobilisation plans and governance templates not simply blank pro formas
- Case studies that show outcomes, added value and innovation, not just delivery activity
- Dual Regime will continue until the dust settles
You will continue to see procurement[s] running under PCR2015 if they commenced their process before the 24 of February 2025. Make sure you check and understand which legislation is being applied before you start solution-design and bid responses. This is especially true for frameworks and DPS contracts where you need to continue to bid for call-offs on a contract established under PCR2015 for example.
Where companies and Bid Teams often struggle is translating a change in legislation into practical and actionable bid actions and behaviours, such as adjusting capture strategy, or even building an evidence pack which aligns to new transparency and performance expectations.
This is exactly where we support our clients. As an industry-leading bid consultancy we are able to work with suppliers from any industry to ensure that they are best positioned to win new contracts under PCA2023. Our expertise spans the entire lifecycle, from opportunity qualification and win themes through to compliance mapping, response structure, evidence optimisation, and end-to-end submission discipline. If your team is seeing increased process variability, heavier governance demands, or uncertainty about what “good” looks like under the new regime, we are only a phone-call away to provide the expertise you need to continue to be successful when tendering for public sector contracts in the UK.