Commentary on provisions of Act Section 3: Procurement
Section 3 amends the domestic legislative framework that regulates procurement, namely the Procurement Act 2023 and six sets of procurement regulations.
	Section 3(2) amends Schedule 2 to the Procurement Act 2023. That Schedule concerns contracts that are substantively exempted from the procurement framework established under that Act. Paragraph 24 of that Schedule makes provision for contracts to be exempted when awarded under procedures adopted by international organisations. Subsection (2) replaces that paragraph to provide that an exempted contract includes a contract wholly or mainly funded by an international organisation of which the UK is a member and that is awarded under a procedure adopted by that organisation which is inconsistent in any material respect with the procedure for the award of the contract set out in the Procurement Act 2023.
	Section 3(3) amends Schedule 9 to the Procurement Act 2023. That Schedule lists international agreements to which the UK is a signatory. In accordance with Part 7 of that Act, where a supplier is entitled to the benefit of an international agreement specified in that Schedule they are treated as a "treaty state supplier". Accordingly, the supplier benefits from the duties owed by contracting authorities to treaty state suppliers under the Act as well as the remedies available to those suppliers. Subsection (3) inserts a reference to the CPTPP in the list of international agreements specified in Schedule 9 to that Act. That insertion extends the duties owed, and remedies available, to treaty state suppliers under that Act to CPTPP suppliers, effective once such supplier is entitled to the benefit of the CPTPP; that is, upon UK accession. The provision thereby implements the market access commitments of the UK to other CPTPP Parties.
	Section 3(4) gives effect to the Schedule, which provides as follows:
Part 1 makes amendments to the procurement regulations for England and Wales and Northern Ireland;
Part 2 makes amendments to the procurement regulations for Scotland; and
Part 3 makes transitional provisions for procurements commenced before the Schedule comes into force.