The Procurement Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 11 May 2022. This is the first step in the process for reforming the UK public procurement regime.
The Procurement Bill follows the publication of the Cabinet Office Green Paper into Transforming Procurement in December 2020, the Cabinet Office’s response to the consultation process in December 2021 and the newly created Transforming Public Procurement Programme.
Please see our Transforming Public Procurement webinar from February 2021 for a detailed review of the proposed changes.
The new regime is anticipated to come into effect by 2023 at the earliest, whilst there will be a minimum of six months’ notice before the regime is launched to provide authorities and industry with time to prepare. The existing regime, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, will continue to apply until the new regime commences. Similarly, the existing regime will apply to procurements started but not completed under the current regulations.
The Procurement Bill itself can be found here. The next stage requires a second reading in the House of Lords, followed by a Committee and Report Stage, followed by a third reading in the House of Lords.
We will be monitoring the progress of the Procurement Bill and the legislative reforms, providing updates and commentary through our Procurement Masterclass sessions.
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
About the author(s)
Chris is a leading lawyer in public procurement. He brings nearly two decades of experience in procurement across diverse sectors including central and local government, construction, developments and infrastructure, defence, health, education, the regulated industries and utilities.
Simon Harris is a Birmingham-based Associate in the Commercial, IT and Outsourcing team, who specialises in major public sector procurement projects.