Key components of the legislation
Procurement is covered by a number of the UK’s international trade agreements including the GPA. The regime in the legislation is compliant with these obligations and allows a degree of future-proofing through targeted delegated powers to update the regime in the event that new agreements are signed.
	The legislation embeds a number of key principles (prohibiting discrimination against treaty state suppliers, and treating suppliers the same) and objectives (delivering value for money, maximising public benefit, sharing information and acting with integrity) for public procurement.
	Reforms have been introduced to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including a duty for contracting authorities to have regard to reducing and removing barriers to SME participation in procurement, and removing unnecessary obstacles relating to audited accounts and insurance in the conditions of participation.
	The legislation requires the evaluation of tenders to be based on criteria that identify the "Most Advantageous Tender" and requires contracting authorities to have regard to delivering value for money and maximising the public benefit from the contract.
	The legislation sets out new procedures for awarding public contracts which allow for more negotiation with suppliers to deliver innovative solutions in partnership with the public sector.
	Powers in the legislation allow Regulations to require all contracting authorities to use a single digital platform for supplier registration, ensuring businesses will only have to submit certain types of information to demonstrate their credentials once to be considered for a public sector procurement. There is a duty on a Minister of the Crown to establish and operate such an online system for this purpose and for the purpose of publishing notices, documents and other information.
	To support prompt payment, 30 day payment terms are passed down through public sector supply chains and private and public sector payment reporting is aligned to allow comparison of how quickly different organisations pay their suppliers.
	The legislation aims to make it easier for buyers to take account of previous poor performance by suppliers. There are clearer and broader grounds to allow for the exclusion of suppliers who pose unacceptable performance risks. The legislation also includes provision for a centralised debarment list of suppliers which the Government considers must or may be excluded from procurements.
	The legislation introduces new arrangements for how procurement should be conducted in an emergency such as the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a new power for Ministers to make provision in Regulations allowing the direct award of contracts when necessary to protect life so that contracting authorities can procure at pace.
	Under the old procurement regime, information on public procurement was published in multiple different locations. The legislation ensures greater transparency of data to make it easier to scrutinise procurement decisions. Notices need to be published at each stage of the commercial lifecycle in an open, accessible format.
	The legislation integrates the previous "Light Touch Regime" for social, health, education and certain other services into the broader provisions but with a series of exceptions to recognise that "Light Touch Contracts" may require different treatment.
	Ministers of the Crown, Welsh Ministers and Northern Ireland Departments have new powers to investigate cases of non-compliance with the legislation and make recommendations to contracting authorities to ensure future compliance.