The Procurement Act 2023: what small businesses need to know
By James Rehman, founder of Bidwhistle · Last checked 28 September 2026 · About 10 minutes to read
Since 24 February 2025, most public sector buying in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has followed a new law, the Procurement Act 2023. It replaced the rules the UK inherited from the EU, and it was written with small businesses partly in mind: one place to find tenders, one registration, clearer feedback and faster payment.
This guide explains what changed and what it means for you. It covers the rules as they stood on the date above. Figures such as thresholds change every two years, so always check the current numbers on gov.uk before you rely on them.
The short version
- Register once, free, on Find a Tender — the government's Central Digital Platform — when you are ready to bid.
- Look for early notices. Buyers now publish what they plan to buy and when they want to talk to suppliers, often long before the tender.
- The best response wins, not just the cheapest. Contracts go to the "most advantageous tender", judged against criteria published in advance.
- You will be told your scores. Every bidder gets an assessment summary, including how the winner scored.
- You get paid in 30 days, and so do your subcontractors.
1. When and where the Act applies
The Act applies to procurements started on or after 24 February 2025. Anything started before that date, and later changes to those contracts, stays under the old rules.
It covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with some differences:
- Wales: Welsh public bodies follow the Act through the Welsh Ministers' own regulations, and a Wales Procurement Policy Statement applies instead of the UK one.
- Northern Ireland: a few parts, such as pipeline notices and the rules for smaller contracts, do not apply to Northern Ireland's own public bodies.
- Scotland: Scottish public bodies follow Scotland's own rules and advertise on Public Contracts Scotland. UK government bodies buying in Scotland follow the Act.
2. One place to find tenders, and one place to register
Under the Act, public tenders are published on the Central Digital Platform, which is the Find a Tender service. That covers contracts above the thresholds, and smaller ones too: a buyer does not have to advertise a smaller contract, but if it does, the notice must go on Find a Tender before anywhere else. Once awarded, smaller contracts from £12,000 (central government) or £30,000 (other buyers), including VAT, are published there as well.
Contracts Finder, the old service for smaller contracts, now carries only procurements started under the previous rules. Its role is due to end, or move to the Central Digital Platform, by 1 May 2027.
Registering is free. You sign in with GOV.UK One Login and complete your "core supplier information" once:
- basic information about your business
- your economic and financial standing, such as your latest accounts
- your connected persons, such as directors and people with significant control
- the exclusion grounds, where you confirm whether any apply to you
You then declare it accurate and generate a share code, which you give to each buyer as they ask, instead of filling in the same questions every time. You only need to register when you want to bid, but it takes time, so do it before a deadline is looming. Keep it up to date: if anything changes, update it and share it again. Since 1 April 2026, winners of smaller contracts must be registered too.
3. The thresholds
Contracts above these values follow the Act's full rules. Below them, lighter rules apply. These figures apply from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, including VAT, and are next due to change on 1 January 2028.
| Type of contract | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Central government goods and services | £135,018 |
| Other public bodies' goods and services | £207,720 |
| Works, and concessions | £5,193,000 |
| Utilities goods and services | £415,440 |
| Defence and security, other than works | £415,440 |
| Light-touch contracts, such as many health, social and education services | £663,540 |
Some older gov.uk pages still show the previous figures, such as £139,688. The ones above are from the government's threshold note of 2026 (PPN 023).
4. The notices to watch, and what each means for you
The Act gives each stage of a procurement its own notice on Find a Tender. The early ones are where small businesses can get ahead.
| Notice | What it tells you | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline notice | What a large buyer (spending over £100 million a year) plans to buy in the next 18 months, for contracts over £2 million. Published by 26 May each year | Plan which opportunities to prepare for |
| Preliminary market engagement notice | The buyer wants to talk to suppliers before writing the tender | Take part: it is your chance to shape what is asked for |
| Planned procurement notice | Advance warning of a tender | Start preparing; the tender period may be shorter |
| Tender notice | The tender itself | Decide whether to bid, then read the award criteria first |
| Transparency notice | The buyer intends to award a contract directly, without competition | Check whether you could have delivered it |
| Contract award notice | Who the buyer intends to award to | An 8-working-day standstill follows before the contract is signed |
| Contract details notice | The signed contract, within 30 days. For contracts over £5 million the contract itself is published too, within 90 days | Learn prices, terms and who won |
| Contract performance notice | For contracts over £5 million, how the supplier is performing against its targets, at least once a year | Spot contracts that may be at risk or coming up again |
5. How contracts are awarded
There are three main routes. In the open procedure, anyone can bid in a single stage. In the competitive flexible procedure, the buyer designs its own process, which can include several stages and negotiation. Direct award without competition is allowed only in limited cases, and the buyer must publish a transparency notice first.
Contracts go to the most advantageous tender: the one that best meets the award criteria the buyer has published. That is not the same as the cheapest. The Act allows a price-only award, but the government's guidance says it is unlikely to suit most contracts.
Everything you are scored on must be published in advance: the award criteria, how each will be assessed and how important each is. Importance can be shown as percentage weightings, a ranking or a description.
Social value is part of many awards. Central government buyers must give it at least 10% of the score on contracts above the thresholds (PPN 002). From 1 January 2027, a new note (PPN 026) asks for at least 10% on contracts from £1 million to under £5 million, and at least 20% from £5 million, including VAT.
The law now asks buyers to think about small businesses. Buyers must have regard to the barriers small and medium-sized businesses face and consider how to reduce them. For smaller contracts, they cannot usually shortlist bidders on suitability before the tender; the exception is larger works contracts.
6. Your scores, and your chance to challenge
Every bidder whose tender was assessed receives an assessment summary before the award is announced. It gives your score on every criterion, the reasons, and how the winning tender scored. It is the most useful feedback you will get, so read it closely.
After the contract award notice comes an 8-working-day standstill before the contract can be signed, for most contracts. If you think something has gone wrong, that is the time to raise it.
7. Getting paid
Public buyers must pay valid, undisputed invoices within 30 days. The same term is written into subcontracts made to deliver a public contract, so if you are a subcontractor, it protects you too. Bidders for the largest contracts, over £5 million a year, must also show they pay their own suppliers promptly.
8. Frameworks and dynamic markets
Many public contracts are awarded through frameworks: agreements with a set of approved suppliers. Under the Act, most frameworks last up to 4 years (8 years for defence and security, and for utilities). A new kind, the open framework, must reopen to new suppliers at least once in its first 3 years.
Dynamic markets replace dynamic purchasing systems (DPS). They must stay open to new suppliers at any time. Existing DPSs carry on until their own end date or 23 February 2029, whichever is earlier. We will cover both in guides of their own.
9. The debarment list
The government keeps a public list of suppliers found, after investigation, to be excluded or excludable from public contracts. An entry usually lasts up to five years. For most businesses it is simply worth knowing it exists, and that the exclusion grounds you confirm when you register are what it is based on.
What to do this month
- Register your business on Find a Tender and complete your core supplier information.
- Set up searches for pipeline, preliminary market engagement and tender notices in your field.
- In every tender pack, read the award criteria and their importance before anything else.
- After every result, read your assessment summary and note where you lost marks.
- Check your own payment terms to any subcontractors: 30 days now flows down the chain.
How Bidwhistle helps
Bidwhistle reads Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and ProContract, together with tenders from across Europe, and matches them to your business. Pipeline and market engagement notices appear as Early signals, so you see opportunities before they are advertised. Olivia, our AI bid adviser, explains what each tender is asking for.