Crown Commercial Service (CCS) guides us through the new regime for UK procurement, including what the Procurement Act 2023 means to them
The Procurement Act 2023 is bringing significant changes to the regulations that govern UK procurement.
The landmark Procurement Bill was granted Royal Assent on 26th October 2023 and became the Procurement Act 2023. The Procurement Regulations 2024 were then laid in Parliament on 25th March 2024, providing additional detail about various aspects of the new procurement regime.
On 22nd April, the Cabinet Office announced that the new regime would take effect in full on 28th October 2024.
This will result in changes to the way Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) commercial agreements operate.
What does the Procurement Act 2023 mean?
The new law provides a number of benefits to suppliers and buyers, including:
- Cutting red tape and supporting innovation.
- Improving transparency by creating a fully open and transparent system, meaning everyone has access to public procurement data.
- Faster competition processes for emergency buying, allowing buyers to meet urgent needs quickly and efficiently.
- Simplifying the process of working with the public sector, supporting more SMEs to bid for contracts.
Once the Procurement Regulations 2024 have commenced, or are ‘live’, these new regulations will apply to all CCS agreements created after that time. From then on, all activities carried out under our new agreements must comply with them.
However, the new regulations are not retroactive. The Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015, which previously governed procurement activity in the UK, will continue to apply to any CCS agreements created prior to the ‘go live’ of the new regime.
How will this affect CCS’s commercial agreements?
A number of CCS’s key upcoming agreements are currently anticipated to be introduced after the beginning of the new regime, meaning they will be subject to a whole new set of regulations.
Public sector buyers will need to consider which contracts they have that will expire after the new regulations come in, and start to plan if and how they will reprocure those contracts as early as possible.
The CCS category teams responsible for these commercial agreements are currently engaging customers and suppliers to develop their commercial and procurement strategies. Developing associated digital platforms and/or contractual documentation to ensure full compliance with the new procurement regime is being considered as a part of this process.
CCS has created an updated list of key commercial agreements that are anticipated to be awarded under the new regime. However, the complexities involved in adopting the new ways of working mean this timeline will be under constant review and may be amended as circumstances dictate.
What is CCS doing to prepare?
CCS has set up a dedicated project team that is starting to implement internal changes step by step, up to the point the new regime goes live.
As an organisation, CCS will:
- Manage and implement the Cabinet Office’s Transforming Public Procurement programme as a key project for CCS, with dedicated internal staff working on this full time.
- Support customers with implementing the new regime through thought leadership and guidance.
- Guide customers on how to use our products once the new regulations are live.
CCS has taken an organisation-wide approach to implementing the new regime, breaking this down into five workstreams:
- Commercial activity: Review all current and planned commercial opportunities.
- Standard operating procedures and policies: Ensure they are robust future-proofed for the new regime.
- Guidance and information: Review the documents that your teams and suppliers use and ensure they are current.
- Systems: Consider the readiness of your organisation’s systems and what changes may be needed.
- People: Ensure your people understand Transforming Public Procurement and undertake the necessary training.
CCS’s implementation guidance document contains detailed information for each of the five workstreams, including a checklist of considerations for each.
Public procurement: Find out more
The Cabinet Office is leading a readiness programme based on the incoming regulations called Transforming Public Procurement (TPP). For more detailed information on how to prepare for the regime’s implementation, visit the Cabinet Office Transforming Public Procurement webpage.
The Cabinet Office is leading a readiness programme based on the incoming regulations called Transforming Public Procurement (TPP). For more detailed information on how to prepare for the regime’s implementation, visit the Cabinet Office Transforming Public Procurement webpage.
Find a complete list of our commercial agreements and learn how we can help you incorporate policy considerations into your procurement in our interactive digital brochure.
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Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
info@crowncommercial.gov.uk
www.crowncommercial.gov.uk
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