The Procurement Act 2023 will now be implemented on 24 February 2025, four months later than the previous October deadline, the government confirmed last week
Louise Bennett, senior associate, Browne Jacobson, said the Act will ‘fundamentally transform how the public sector purchases goods and services’, placing ‘greater emphasis on transparency, supplier performance and non-financial criteria such as quality, local job creation and environmental impact’.
Bennett said the delay in implementation ‘gives much-needed breathing space to public authorities, a large number of which understandably weren’t ready for the significant changes it brings due to the late arrival of statutory guidance’.