Procurement Act 2023 – How it will affect education budgets
An award-winning procurement professional explains how the Procurement Act 2023 changes the way we spend primary education budgets…
What is the Procurement Act 2023?
The Procurement Act 2023 aims to make the transition from EU to UK law post-Brexit more transparent and straightforward.
How does the Procurement Act 2023 affect schools?
There is currently a lack of understanding among SLTs as to how the Procurement Act 2023 will affect day-to-day practices.
One key change of the act is likely to be the refinement of procurement notices. These notices will now be required throughout the lifecycle of the procurement process, from planning to tender, contract award, contract management, and termination.
While this should enhance transparency, it will increase the risk of administrative strain, data breaches, and legal challenges.
Schools and trusts must improve training, upgrade data management and ensure e-tendering systems can handle these new demands.
Centralisation
A new centralised digital platform for procurement will be rolled out in phases. This will bring all procurement-related information into one place. This includes data on both available suppliers and those not eligible to be awarded public sector contracts.
“A new centralised digital platform for procurement will be rolled out in phases”
Register at the government’s Transforming Public Procurement page to get the latest updates. This will help you ensure your organisation is receiving the best return on value and complying with the new procurement requirements.
Routes to market
The Procurement Act 2023 replaces existing procurement processes with two competitive routes plus a direct award option:
- Open procedure: A single-stage, unrestricted competition.
- Competitive flexible procedure: Allows schools and trusts to design their procurement processes.
- Direct awards: Enables contracts to be awarded without competition in specific situations.
Schools and trusts can continue to use frameworks and existing DPSs (all DPSs will end in October 2028).
New frameworks
Open frameworks will now last for a maximum of eight years to allow for more frequent appointments of new suppliers. This should enhance flexibility in procurement, and reduce the exclusion of smaller or newer suppliers.
Additionally, Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) will be removed, and Dynamic Markets introduced. This will require a Tender Notice for each procurement. You cannot use this for contracts below threshold.
“This should enhance flexibility in procurement”
For schools and trusts using a framework or DPS set up under the Public Contract Regulations 2015, those rules will still apply when awarding contracts under those agreements.
Preparing for the Procurement Act 2023
If you’re responsible for budgets but unsure how the Procurement Act 2023 will affect you, reach out to procurement organisations such as YPO for practical advice.
Partnering with education procurement services can extend the capabilities of internal teams, offering expertise and resources that might be otherwise inaccessible.
Michelle Walker is head of procurement services at YPO. She is an award-winning procurement professional with extensive experience in the public sector. You can watch a webinar from YPO all about procurement reform. You can also read more about procurement reform in education.
