The Procurement Act 2023

SUPC Procurement Act update – February 2024

We are pleased to share the latest information on the Procurement Act 2023.

Useful links

• Government Commercial Function Guidance Notes
• Procurement Act Legislation
• Templates for members
• In conversation with SUPC Special Projects Lead, Clare Riley

Central Digital Platform now live!

Registration for the Central Digital Platform (CDP) was open for the Higher Education sector on 10 February.

On the CDP you can:

• register and set up your organisation using this link
• add more users to your organisation profile, either as admin, editor or viewer.
• generate an API Key to share with your eSender (if needed). Please refer to your sender for more guidance as this process is dependent on each supplier’s portal.
• complete the Joint Controller Agreement.

Phase 1 notices

The following notices will be released from 24th February 2025:

Phase 2 notices

Any other notices will be released post go-live date. These include:

• UK 1 – Pipeline due 1st April
• UK 17-Payments Compliance Notices (section 69)
• UK 8- Information about payments >£30k under public contracts (section 70)
• UK 9- Contract Performance (section 71) – the obligation to report on KPIs and poor performance/breach in a Contract Performance Notice

SUPC Transformation Update – November 2024

As we navigate the new legislative landscape introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 and the evolving challenges in Higher Education, SUPC is undergoing a structured internal Transformation project. This initiative spans three primary workstreams designed to ensure that SUPC’s processes, culture, and systems align with both regulatory demands and our strategic goals.

Download our progress update and next steps across each area in the members log in below.

The Procurement Act

The new Procurement Act (now due to launch on 24 February 2025) aims to establish a single legal framework for the award of public contracts. Many of the features of the new regime will remain the same, but several significant changes are proposed.

Despite the challenges presented by the Procurement Act changes, there are notable positive aspects to consider including adding flexibility and agility to parts of procurement processes. The bill may add bureaucracy around transparency notices which could initially increase risk for us as an organisation and members, both legally and reputationally, but will ultimately strengthen the integrity of both.

Head of SUPC, Gemma Payne, has summarised this postponement:

Read the full statement from UK Parliament on the Procurement Act postponement here.

Resources for members

Members can login below to access SUPC resources to help with preparation for the Procurement Act 2023. These include:

• SUPC transformation update
• a detailed report of the expected impacts of the new procurement act
• an update on the Central Digital Platform including its purpose, benefits and key dates.

Private Files

Please login to view private documents.