The UK Government has released a statement saying that the planned Procurement Act 2023 has been delayed to February 2025
The Cabinet Office has released a statement detailing the pushback of the Procurement Act 2023 to February 2025.
The act was originally drafted and announced in June 2022, for implementation in October 2024.
The Procurement Act 2023 was due to start on 28 October
The act was originally written to create a policy statement across the nation that contracting authorities must take heed of.
However, the latest statement says that the original draft does not fully meet the current challenge, and does not take advantage of public procurement to deliver value for money, social value, and economic growth.
As such, the act requires updating, and the implementation date for the act has been pushed back to allow time for these changes to be made.
Reactions will be mixed
While the delay will give contractors and authorities more time to prepare for the changes, it is possible that others will be disappointed at having to wait longer, as they may have been following Cabinet Office guidelines and updates, and feel ready to implement changes and resume business immediately.
Georgia Gould, parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, wrote: “The Procurement Act 2023 aims to create a simpler and more transparent regime for public sector procurement that will deliver better value for money, and reduce costs for business and the public sector. This Government will use this legal framework to deliver greater value for money and improved social value, which will help raise standards, drive economic growth and open up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses and social enterprises.”
She continued: “I am confident that the extra time to prepare will allow for a more seamless transition, ensuring a smoother and more effective implementation process for both contracting authorities and suppliers.”
