Update to requirements to publish procurement information on Contracts Finder

PPN 01/23 - update to legal and policy requirements to publish procurement information on Contracts Finder

This PPN and associated guidance replaces PPN 09/21. The PPN provides consolidated guidance that reminds public bodies of the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) to publish information about opportunities and awards, over certain value thresholds, on Contracts Finder (CFS).

The guidance incorporates additional policy requirements for Central Government to publish procurement and contract documents.

This guidance has been re-issued to reflect changes following the end of the transition period and to provide further clarity to enable in-scope organisations to meet their transparency obligations.

What are the Contracts Finder Publication Requirements?

1. The PCRs 2015 require the majority of above threshold* contract opportunities to be advertised across the UK on Find a Tender (FTS), the UK’s new e-notification service, and also on Contracts Finder.

* for sub-central contracting authorities, currently £213,477 for goods and services, £5,336,937 for works and £663,540 for social and other specific services; for central contracting authorities, currently £138,760 for goods and services, £5,336,937 for works and £663,540 for social and other specific services. 

2. The Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2022 came into force on 21 Dec 2022. This makes two changes to the Below Threshold Regime:

a. The contract value limits have been amended:

i. from £10,000 to £12,0000 for central government authorities; and

ii. from £25,000 to £30,0000 for sub-central authorities. b. NHS Foundation Trusts now have the same publication value thresholds as sub-central authorities, alongside NHS Trusts (i.e. £30,000 and above), and need only publish the minimum information required by the PCR 2015, and to the 90-day timescale.

3. All contracting authorities should also note that the contract value limits are to be calculated inclusive of VAT (this took effect from 1 Jan 2022).

What information should be published on Contracts Finder about contract awards?

Once a contract has been awarded (whether by open competition or otherwise) you are required to publish at least the following information on Contracts Finder:

• The full company name of the winning contractor;
• The date on which the contract was entered into (award date);
• The total value of the contract in pounds sterling; and
• Details of who has won the contract, including indicating whether the contractor is a small/medium sized enterprise (SME) or a voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE)

What do I have to do if I use a framework agreement?

You do not need to publish the contract opportunity on Find a Tender (FTS) or on Contracts Finder if you use a framework agreement.

However, if you use a framework agreement for procurement opportunities that exceed £30,000, you do need to publish a contract award notice on Contracts Finder once the contract has been awarded.

CPC Members who use the quote tool are reminded that they will need to log in to Contracts Finder and publish the award manually, as the quote tool will not do this for you.

More information can be found here.

A reminder of who is exempt from the Contracts Finder Regulations

Maintained schools, academies and sixth form colleges are exempt from the Contracts Finder publication requirements, as are contracting authorities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Please refer to PPN 01/23 for further detail and information on timings of publications.

Should you have any queries about the procurement regulations, please do not hesitate to contact your CPC Regional Procurement Advisor or read the guidance on your go to procurement resource provided by CPL Group – Further Education Library of Procurement – www.felp.ac.uk