Procurement Act 2023: A Guide for Suppliers

The Procurement Act 2023 replaced the previous EU-derived procurement regulations for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This guide explains what PA2023 means for suppliers bidding on public sector contracts, including the shift from PQQ to Selection Questionnaires, new transparency requirements, and mandatory grounds for exclusion.

What Is the Procurement Act 2023?

The Procurement Act 2023 (PA2023) is the primary piece of UK legislation governing public procurement in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland following the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union. It came into force on 24 February 2025, replacing three sets of regulations that had been adapted from EU procurement directives.

The Act applies to contracts above the relevant financial thresholds awarded by central government departments, local authorities, NHS trusts, housing associations, and other contracting authorities. Scotland maintains its own procurement framework under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, though Scottish contracting authorities often align with national UK policy in practice.

Contracting Authority

A contracting authority is a public body required to follow public procurement law when purchasing goods, services, or works. This includes central government departments, executive agencies, local councils, NHS bodies, universities, police forces, and many other publicly-funded organisations. The term "buyer" and "contracting authority" are used interchangeably in procurement contexts.

The key policy aims of PA2023 from the supplier perspective are: simplification of the qualification process through standardisation, greater transparency of buyer intentions through pipeline notices and award information, faster payment terms, and improved access for small businesses and voluntary organisations.

Key Changes for Suppliers Under PA2023

Selection Questionnaire replaces PQQ

The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) has been replaced by a standardised Selection Questionnaire (SQ). Previously, different buying authorities used differently structured PQQs, requiring suppliers to answer the same types of questions in different formats for every tender. The SQ standardises the core pre-qualification questions across all UK public procurement, enabling you to prepare standard answers once and reuse them efficiently.

Transparency of award decisions

PA2023 introduces a new Contracts Award Notice (CAN) requirement and expanded debriefing rights. Buyers must publish more detailed information about award decisions, and unsuccessful suppliers have a right to request a debrief explaining their scores and the winning supplier's comparative strengths. This is a significant improvement for SMEs learning to improve bid quality.

Pipeline Notices for advance visibility

Buyers with planned contracts expected to exceed £2 million must publish Pipeline Notices announcing the intended procurement in advance. This gives suppliers 6 to 18 months of advance notice to prepare evidence, build relationships with the buyer, and position their capabilities. KimonBids monitors pipeline notices alongside live tenders so you see opportunities before your competitors.

Revised exclusion grounds

PA2023 restructured the exclusion grounds into mandatory exclusions (which automatically disqualify a supplier) and discretionary exclusions (which buyers may apply at their discretion). New mandatory grounds include competition law infringements and significant breaches of employment law. A Cabinet Office Register of Excluded Suppliers is maintained and buyers must check it before awarding contracts.

Payment terms and prompt payment

Central government buyers must pay suppliers within 30 days, and supply chain payment obligations flow down to subcontractors. Buyers must include payment performance reporting in contract management and report on prompt payment in their annual reports. This is a meaningful improvement for SME cash flow compared to the variable payment terms that previously applied.

Central Digital Platform (CDP)

The Central Digital Platform is a government-run supplier registration system accessible at find-tender.service.gov.uk. All suppliers wishing to bid on contracts subject to PA2023 must register on the CDP.

CDP registration captures your organisation's core information: company registration number, legal form, key contacts, and standard qualification information. Once registered, this information is accessible to any buying authority when assessing your selection questionnaire. You update your CDP profile when circumstances change rather than re-entering information for every tender.

The CDP also serves as the system through which the exclusion grounds register is maintained. Before awarding a contract, buyers search the CDP to verify the winning supplier is not on the exclusion register. This is automated in most modern procurement platforms, but suppliers need to be aware that CDP status is checked as part of the award process.

KimonBids tracks your CDP registration status as part of the PA2023 readiness dashboard, and includes CDP registration as the first step in the compliance checklist.

How PA2023 Affects Bid Writing

The Procurement Act 2023 changes some fundamental aspects of how tenders are structured and evaluated, which has direct implications for how you write bid responses.

Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) replaces Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

PA2023 replaces the MEAT evaluation criterion with MAT -- Most Advantageous Tender. The practical implication is that buyers have broader discretion to weight non-price factors including social value, innovation, and longer-term outcomes rather than being anchored to an economic advantage framing. This generally benefits SMEs whose bids emphasise quality, social impact, and relationship continuity over lowest price.

Social value is now mandatory, not discretionary

PA2023 places a duty on contracting authorities to consider social value throughout procurement. In bid terms, this means you must include specific, measurable social value commitments in your technical response rather than treating it as an optional enhancement. Vague commitments ("we will promote employment opportunities in the area") score poorly against buyers who are now required to evaluate social value systematically.

Evaluation criteria must be disclosed at publication

PA2023 requires buyers to publish their evaluation methodology, weightings, and scoring criteria in the tender notice or specification documents. This gives suppliers more information with which to structure their responses. Align your word count and depth of response to the published weightings rather than writing equal-length answers to each question.

PA2023 Compliance Checklist for SMEs

Use this checklist to assess your readiness to bid on contracts subject to the Procurement Act 2023:

Confirm you are not subject to any mandatory or discretionary exclusion grounds

Obtain and maintain employer's liability insurance at the required minimum

Obtain and maintain public liability insurance at the required minimum

Prepare a signed equality and diversity policy

Prepare a signed environmental management policy

Prepare a health and safety policy appropriate to your business size

Build a PSQ response bank for standard Selection Questionnaire questions

Document two to three relevant contract references with outcomes and contact details

Prepare specific, measurable social value commitments aligned to PPN 06/20

Review your financial accounts to ensure they demonstrate required financial standing

Check that your CDP profile is current and accurately reflects your business activities

See our features page for a full description of KimonBids' PA2023 compliance tracking tools, or visit the procurement glossary for definitions of PA2023 terminology.

How KimonBids Helps with PA2023 Readiness

KimonBids includes a dedicated PA2023 compliance centre that tracks your readiness across the three core assessment areas:

Central Digital Platform registration -- track and confirm CDP status with a direct link to the registration portal.
Exclusion grounds self-certification -- guided self-assessment against mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds.
Conditions of participation evidence -- upload and maintain insurance certificates, accreditations, and policy documents with automatic expiry alerts. The system flags expired items before they cause a failed selection questionnaire.

The PSQ response bank lets you store version-controlled answers to standard SQ questions, ready to pull into any new bid workspace rather than rewriting standard content for every tender.

See our frameworks guide for information about how PA2023 applies specifically to framework agreements, or visit the KimonBids blog for the latest commentary on PA2023 implementation in practice.

Track Your PA2023 Readiness

KimonBids includes a PA2023 compliance centre that tracks your readiness score across CDP, exclusion grounds, and conditions of participation evidence.

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Frequently Asked Questions About PA2023

What did the Procurement Act 2023 replace?

The Procurement Act 2023 replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, all of which derived from European Union procurement directives. Following the UK's exit from the EU, the government undertook a full review of public procurement rules and introduced PA2023 as a simplified, consolidated framework intended to provide more flexibility for UK buying authorities while improving transparency for suppliers.

When did the Procurement Act 2023 come into force?

The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The main provisions came into force on 24 February 2025 following a transition period that allowed buying authorities and suppliers to prepare. Contracts already in progress under the old regulations continued under those rules; PA2023 applies to new procurements commenced from the go-live date.

What is the Central Digital Platform (CDP)?

The Central Digital Platform (CDP) is a government-run supplier registration and pre-qualification system that all suppliers must register on before bidding for contracts subject to the Procurement Act 2023. CDP registration replaces the previous process where suppliers would re-enter standard company information for every tender they bid on. Once registered, your organisation profile is accessible to any buying authority, and buyers can check your CDP profile as part of the selection questionnaire assessment.

What replaced the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)?

The Selection Questionnaire (SQ) replaced the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) under PA2023. The SQ is standardised across UK public procurement, meaning suppliers answer the same core questions for every tender rather than completing differently structured PQQs for each buyer. This standardisation is one of the key improvements for suppliers under PA2023 because it enables you to build a reusable PSQ response bank for standard SQ questions.

How has social value changed under PA2023?

Social value requirements have been strengthened under PA2023. Buying authorities are required to consider social value throughout the procurement lifecycle and must include social value criteria in their award criteria. The evaluation framework remains aligned with PPN 06/20 and the five core outcome themes: COVID recovery (now largely superseded by broader economic resilience themes), tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, equal opportunity, and wellbeing. The practical impact for suppliers is that social value is now a mandatory part of every above-threshold contract evaluation rather than discretionary.

What are the mandatory exclusion grounds under PA2023?

PA2023 introduced a revised and expanded set of mandatory exclusion grounds: serious criminal offences including terrorism, fraud, bribery, and money laundering; competition law infringements; significant breaches of employment law; and failure to cooperate in investigations. Suppliers must self-certify against exclusion grounds as part of the selection process. A new register of excluded suppliers will be maintained by the Cabinet Office, and buying authorities must check this register before awarding contracts.