Credit Management April 2024 issue

LEGISLATION
BUYER
BEWARE
In a bid to revolutionise public procurement, the recently
passed Procurement Act aims to reduce complexity, increase
flexibility, and promote transparency over public spending.
BY MASUMA AHMED AND PETE MAGUIRE
THE Act was introduced to
Parliament in May 2022 to reform
the UK’s existing procurement
regime. It received Royal Assent
in October 2023, with contracting
authorities and suppliers being
provided with a six-month notice
period ahead of the legislation coming into force in
October 2024.
It’s important to understand the reasons for reforming
the existing procurement regime, what the key
provisions under the Act are, and how the Act will
impact small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The need to reform
The Act is designed to streamline the existing
legislation governing the UK’s procurement regime by
introducing one single framework, which will replace
the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Concession
Contracts Regulations 2016, Utilities Contracts
Regulations 2016 and Defence and Security Public
Contracts Regulations 2011.
The Act is also intended to strengthen national
security; increase transparency surrounding
procurement data; and help SMEs to compete with
bigger, established businesses for future public
contracts.
Strengthening national security
The Act was written, according to former Minister
for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General Jeremy
Quin, to ‘protect our sensitive sectors from companies
which could threaten national security and are a firm
deterrence to hostile actors who wish to do Britain
harm.’ The measures the Government is seeking to
implement via the Act to protect national security
include the establishment of a National Security Unit
and the introduction of new powers to ban certain
suppliers from contracting within specific, sensitive
sectors such as defence and national security. The
National Security Unit will allow suppliers who may
pose a risk to national security to be investigated to
determine whether if they ought to be barred from
public procurements.
Increasing transparency
The Act creates a central digital platform in order to
enhance transparency of public procurement activity,
allowing suppliers to register contracts, and to ensure
that contracting authorities publish procurement
data throughout the contract lifecycle through the
introduction of several procurement notices. The
access to such data will enable suppliers to identify
new bidding and collaboration opportunities.
Helping SMEs to compete
In the view of Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart,
the Act ‘puts the Government in a stronger position
to get the best deal for taxpayers, while prioritising
growth by cutting red tape and removing barriers for
small businesses.’
As well as reducing red tape to drive growth within
the UK procurement market, the Act seeks to offer
further opportunities for SMEs by making the new
procurement regime ‘simpler, quicker and cheaper.’ It
will also impose a duty on contracting authorities to
consider the barriers faced by SMEs when participating
within the public procurement market. As such, there
is a clear emphasis on the Act supporting SMEs by
increasing the public procurement opportunities for
such businesses.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / April 2024 / PAGE 20