Published
By CPC Helpdesk
Most institutions will be aware that the new Procurement Act will come into force on 24th February and, with a month or so remaining, CPC remains a choice partner who can help you to prepare for this key shift in public spending regulations.
We are nearing the go-live date for Procurement Act 2023 and its replacement of the current Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The scope of the new Act, in terms of its impact on the education sector, is set out in a dedicated page on our website and, in the run-up to Christmas, we went live with information that suppliers will need to be aware of. You’ll see the link to the supplier page when you click through, and it may be worthwhile sharing this link with your own supplier base.
We have previously discussed in newsletter articles, as well as through our PAG Presents webinar series, the key matters that our members need to consider when transitioning their procurement activities to Act compliance, and these are summarised on our website. The good news is that sourcing requirements through our frameworks will continue to be both a compliant and value for money-driving route to market.
We updated our webpage this month with important information regarding the national Find a Tender Service. This portal is the repository for all procurement notices (whether adverts to suppliers for tender opportunities or notification of awards and modifications of contracts by buyers). If your institution is awarding contracts that fall above your internal financial regulations threshold for obtaining tenders, you will need to register on this portal. We have developed a handy and step-by-step guide to explain how and why this registration is required. You can click through to this from our website link above, or go directly to Central Digital Platform - the new Find a Tender Service.
Look out for further PAG Presents webinars advertised in coming weeks, which will continue to review aspects of the Act and how our members will be best placed to meet its requirements. In the meantime, we urge you to read the information on our dedicated Procurement Act page and consider how best to address the relevant matters within your own institution.
If you have any questions, you can reach out to CPC, either through Jack Horton, our Customer Engagement Manager and his team of Regional Procurement Advisors, or Mark Pearson, our Learning & Development Lead.