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The Procurement Act - seven months on

Since the launch of the Central Digital Platform - Find a Tender service, there have been 2,800 contracting authorities and 48,000 suppliers registered and over 33,000 notices have been published. Development of the platform continued post go-live with significant functionality being rolled out for example, to support consortia bidding and, more recently, the ability to run a PPON search.

For the first time, there is a solid UK public sector pipeline enabled via the launch of the UK1 Pipeline Notice in May. This provides visibility for suppliers but is also of interest for contracting authorities and allows them to aggregate and leverage public sector spend.

Uptake of the new competitive flexible procedure has been strong with many innovative approaches being demonstrated by contracting authorities. As we are now seeing some of the initial large and complex procurements let and enter into the contract management stage, we have some examples of how contracts are being modified, including very clear justifications and grounds where contracting authorities have done this. Additionally, we are seeing more pre-market engagement taking place where organisations are looking for input from suppliers in shaping their commercial agreements.

If you would like to showcase any procurement projects where you have utilised the new flexibilities available under the Procurement Act 2023, please consider submitting your case studies to the Cabinet Office team at procurement.reform@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

How to set up consortia on Central Digital Platform - Find a Tender - a new video guide for suppliers:

To support suppliers and other stakeholders to navigate the complexities of the new legislation, the Cabinet Office has published a series of videos to help everyone understand and navigate the platform, including how to register, upload organisational information and search and bid for opportunities.

The latest video in this series provides a short overview for suppliers of what they need to do to register as a consortium of two or more suppliers and bid for contracts on Find a Tender service. You can access the video here on the dedicated supplier information page.

Dedicated technical help desk

For all technical queries relating to the Central Digital Platform - Find a Tender service and supplier information, please use the contact form to raise a ticket with the helpdesk.

Policy related queries should continue to be directed to procurement.reform@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

Opportunities to find out more

The Transforming Public Procurement landing page on GOV.UK is the repository for a range of information about the programme, including a recording from the webinar series, details of the L&D package, and guidance documents to help planning and preparation, and outlining of the benefits of the new regime for suppliers. 

Keeping in touch

If you would like to sign up to receive these updates from the Cabinet Office, please fill out this form. For any other matters, please email procurement.reform@cabinetoffice.gov.uk with a clear subject line title. If you wish to see their data privacy notice, please put “data privacy” in the subject line, and if you are having difficulty using the online registration form, please put “keep me updated” in the subject line.