Recommendation 32

The new Procurement Act 2023 will be in due course be accompanied by the replacement of the current Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and related statutory instruments made under the previous primary legislation. The Act reflects principles of proportionality, transparency and ensuring that suppliers do not have an unfair advantage or disadvantage.55 The Procurement Act has been developed with the aim of reducing administrative costs to businesses and the public sector, while permitting flexibility in how buyers structure competitions and use negotiation. This increases the importance of collecting good quality data to ensure that departments are using this flexibility properly and identifying best practices.56 We asked how government would prepare all departments and public bodies to deal with these changes. The Cabinet Office highlighted that it has already held briefings with the Civil Service Board in July, putting heads of departments on notice to make sure they were looking forward to and ready for it.57