This year, the implementation of the new Procurement Act 2023 will dominate the activity of our procurement communities across the public sector. UKUPC will provide you with regular updates on intelligence gathered as part of our role as Superusers as well as information on what we, as consortia, are doing to prepare ourselves. We will share guidance and support to our collective membership to assist you with this transformation.

Legislation Update
The Cabinet Office advised that the next significant phase of implementation is publishing the formal response to the consultation undertaken last year on the proposed secondary legislation which itself will be laid in parliament in mid to late March.  Once the Statutory Instrument is available it will be shared through the networks.

The Act, which is primary legislation, is officially titled the Procurement Act 2023. The secondary legislation will be called the Procurement Regulations 2024.

Government Commercial College Training
Following on from the December launch of the Knowledge Drops, the next phase in upskilling procurement is the delivery of eLearning modules which are planned to be available in April and will be open to all who are eligible to access Government Commercial College.  There will be nine modules with a tenth certification module.

The Communities of Practice will begin in May this year offering resources and meet ups to provide support to procurement practitioners. These will be available on the Government Commercial College website.

Cabinet Office Guidance Documents
A suite of guidance documents will be made available in phased release to help with interpretation and understanding of the new regime. They will be available on gov.uk on the Transforming Public Procurement section. The first phase will be released in March with all materials available by the end of June.

Central Digital Platform
The Central Digital Platform is in progress. This system will combine Registration, Supplier Information and Find a Tender service in one place.

The Cabinet Office is engaging with eProcurement system providers to support the new notice requirements. Seven of the new notices have been released to the test environment.

For all questions relating to implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 there is a service desk available at procurement.reform@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

UKUPC Activity – how can we support you

We will shortly issue the Procurement Act 2023 Impact Review, produced by SUPC for UKUPC members, which includes: the key changes and their impacts; the objectives and highlights of the new bill; risks; next steps; and cabinet office training.

UKUPC Procurement Act Webinar Series
Over the next few months UKUPC will be delivering a UKUPC Procurement Act Webinar Series.
The series has been created by LUPC exclusively for UKUPC members, largely tapping into the expertise of the suppliers on the Legal Services Framework Agreement PFB5069 LU.  The planned programme for the UKUPC Procurement Act Webinar Series is here.  The webinars will take place monthly and will cover the pertinent issues of the Act.

Our opening webinar is:

The Procurement Act 2023: Planning for the main impacts - 18 March 14.00.15.30
Register here
Delivered by Mohamed Hans of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), an expert on the interpretation of public procurement rules.
With the Act expected to come into effect from October 2024, there is a lot of planning and preparation required to be ready for the biggest overhaul of procurement rules. This session will provide an overview of the key elements of the new Procurement Act 2023 and the impacts it will have for member organisations and practitioners.

We will be opening registration for the other webinars shortly and will provide you with the booking details for these in due course.