Procurement Act Delay- Time To Prepare

The Government has announced a four-month delay in the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023. Initially scheduled to take effect on 28 October 2024, the Act will now come into force on 24 February 2025. This postponement, as detailed in a ministerial statement from the Cabinet Office, is intended to provide additional time for the creation of a new National Procurement Policy Statement.

The Procurement Act 2023, which received royal assent on 26 October 2023, marks a significant departure from EU-derived laws. It introduces a unified framework for public contracts, utilities, concessions, and defence and security procurement. This delay offers public authorities crucial extra time to prepare for the substantial changes, especially given the late arrival of statutory guidance.

The Act aims to revolutionise public sector procurement by emphasising value for money, public benefit, and integrity. It also stresses transparency, supplier performance, and importantly, Social Value- local job creation, and environmental impact. 

While Public authorities are reviewing their procedures and skillsets to ensure smooth procurement processes once the Act is in effect. This delay provides a golden opportunity for Suppliers to get on the front foot in preparing themselves for the changes.

So what should suppliers be doing to get on the front foot?

This is where we at transformacy can help. As Corporate Sustainability Consultants and Social Value specialists, we give our clients a competitive edge by ensuring they achieve the highest possible Social Value evaluation scores.

We build tailored, actionable Social Value strategies designed specifically for bidding into the UK Government and regularly write our clients’ winning social value responses.

A successful Social Value tender response, aligns on the Procurement Authority's own Social Value Strategy, is innovative and measurable. To achieve this it is important that implement a Social Value strategy, concepts and initiatives into the business before you are faced with responding to a tender. Specifically, we follow a proven three-step process:

• Baseline Assessment and Recommendation Reports- we evaluate where you are from a Social Value maturity perspective, we conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment tailored specifically to your operations, ensuring that any future Social Value strategy is aligned with your business objectives and delivers measurable ROI. This process will involve a detailed review of your current policies, processes, and any past tender responses, as well as benchmarking against industry competitors in your sector.
  
  To provide further tailored insights, we will also conduct interviews with key employees to gather operational perspectives and identify areas for improvement. The outcome of this assessment will be compiled into a recommendation report, highlighting specific ESG opportunities, potential risks, and strategic priorities.
  
  
• We then take the output of phase 1 and create a bespoke sustainability/ Social Value strategy aligned with your corporate objectives and social purpose, structured around the key pillars of Environmental, Social, and Governance. This will include establishing a Carbon Footprint baseline and focusing on the impact areas most relevant to your business across: Governance, Employees, Community, Environment, and Customers.
  
  We will develop clear, measurable metrics that capture the value your business creates across these areas, ensuring alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and UK Government procurement standards (see this article on Social Value measurement methods). These metrics will allow you to track progress and demonstrate performance over time.
  
  
• In the final phase we formalise and implement the initiatives outlined in the Social Value strategy, including the creation of a publishable comprehensive strategy document, Carbon Reduction Plan and the initial Impact Report (which can then be used to annually report your Impact and progress against goals).
  
  Key initiatives—such as new policies, partnerships, and certifications—will be integrated into your operations. This process is supported by robust data management and evidence-based metrics, ensuring that each initiative is both measurable and impactful.

If you would like to learn more about how transformacy can help you with your Social Value Strategy or your next Public Sector bid, do please schedule a call using the button below.