Start preparing for the new Public Procurement Act
The new 2022 Transforming Public Procurement Bill, replacing the existing Procurement Rules and consolidating multiple pieces of UK and European legislation governing public procurement, is in the final stages of entering UK Law. It is anticipated that the Public Procurement Act will take effect in Spring 2023 and will apply to contracting public-sector organisations and their suppliers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Scotland retaining their existing criteria.
The Bill has 13 parts and of note, is Part 4 which specifically focuses on Contract Management after the procurement process has concluded and the contract has been awarded.
Public-sector contracts may last for many years and it is important that throughout their life, the public purse receives high performing, value for money, quality services that are well managed and optimally delivered. To achieve this, the Bill includes new requirements to monitor, analyse and publicly report details on supplier performance against agreed criteria. There is also a strengthening of the rules on supplier payment mechanisms.
In readiness for the introduction of the Bill, it has never been more important for procurement teams and project and contract delivery managers to ensure that their contracts are set up in such a way as to support closer, but cost effective, scrutiny and reporting.
For many years, Just Contract Management has been advising forward-thinking public-sector organisations (specialising in Police and NHS) on these crucial elements of contract management. Contact us now to discuss how we can support your inhouse teams to be ready for the Bill’s introduction – we can help implement the technology to digitise your paper contracts, greatly speeding up access to the original contract, variations and KPIs. We can also assess your readiness and upskill your team to gain the practical knowledge to ensure your high value contracts deliver the results you are paying for.
Read a Gov UK summary of the Bill’s main provisions here.
Read the Government’s guidance to organisations preparing for the Bill’s introduction.
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