How public bodies buy goods and services in the UK is changing with the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) coming into force on 24 February 2025. As the UK Government spends a significant amount of money annually within the life sciences sector, now is a good time for suppliers within this exciting and developing sector to take advantage of the incoming changes, and be prepared for future contracting opportunities. 

Why is it important?

1. The Act will make it simpler for suppliers to access public sector opportunities in the UK by simplifying the bidding process and making commercial frameworks more flexible. 
2. The Act will make public procurement in the UK more transparent and accessible via the new central digital platform. Details on how to access this platform are below.
3. The expectations on suppliers will also change under the Act, including in relation to key commercial points such as payment terms and contract management. Helpful DLA Piper resources and UK government resources are signposted at the end of this blog post. 

Register on the central digital platform

The most important thing that we urge you to do is register on the central digital platform. The central digital platform is an online portal that will facilitate finding and bidding for all public sector contract opportunities regardless of value. This will replace the need to monitor both Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. You will need to create a GOV.UK One Login in order to register for the platform. This can be done via this link.

There is no deadline for registering on the platform however it is entirely free and is a very simple process, so we recommend registering as soon as the platform goes live on 24 February 2025. In order to register, someone (an administrator) will need to initially set up your organisation on the portal, who can then add and amend users, and can add and amend details about the organisation. 

Details about the organisation will need to be inputted or uploaded. This will include basic information such as your company number and registered address, as well as financial information, any connected persons and exclusions. Once the information has been completed, it can be declared and shared when contracting opportunities arise from contracting authorities. The helpful thing is that the company details will be stored on the platform, saving time when bidding for multiple opportunities.

Once you have registered on the portal, it has a search functionality that can be used and helpfully, opportunities can be filtered by categories including by area, by keywords, by value or by industry CPV codes (i.e. CPV code 33000000 is for Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products). Alerts can also be set up through clicking 'save search', so that all opportunities that fall within your desired categories will be notified to you.

What next?

The central digital platform will contain public procurement notices from the likes of the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care. These notices will be transparent about what the contracting authority is seeking to buy, the details suppliers need in order to tender for the contract, and the process(es) to be followed. Notices will be published throughout the contract life such as contract modification notices.

Three of the key notices to look out for are: 

1. Pipeline notices: These will let you know what procurements (with an estimated total contract value of over £ 2 million) are planned.
2. Tender notices: These let you know that there is an opportunity available to tender for.
3. Contract award notices: These let you know that a contracting authority has assessed the tenders and intends to enter into a public contract. It will include details of the successful supplier and the contract value.

Upcoming changes to payment terms

If you are bidding for UK public contracts with an anticipated value of over GBP 5 million per year, there are additional requirements in relation to how you deal with your supply chain. The new procurement policy note 015 (which will take effect when the Act comes into force) requires in-scope contracting authorities to assess the reliability of every supplier's supply chains via set questions. Part of this will require suppliers to demonstrate that all invoices are paid in an average of 55 days, which will reduce to 45 days under PPN 018 in October 2025. If this is not met, you will not qualify for the procurement.

These changes aim to promote prompt and fair payment practices through the whole supply chain of public contracts.   We suggest you take a look at the following article which includes suggestions for how you can prepare for the upcoming changes: Upcoming changes to payment term requirements for public procurements | DLA Piper.

Contract management under the new Act

The Act also introduces a greater focus on supplier performance, including new rights for contracting authorities to terminate existing contracts, so suppliers need to understand the potential impacts on their existing contracts and their ability to compete for future contracts. We suggest you take a look at the following article on what you need to know about contract management under the Act: Contract Management under the Procurement Act 2023: What should I know? | DLA Piper