Part 13: General Schedule 1: Threshold amounts
Paragraph 1 contains a table setting out the various thresholds applicable to the different categories of contract. Whether the estimated value of a contract is above or below the relevant threshold determines whether it is subject to the main regime for public contracts set out in the legislation, or the below-threshold regime contained in Part 6.
	Paragraph 2 gives an appropriate authority the power to make regulations changing those thresholds in paragraph 1 that are linked to the thresholds in the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement ("GPA"). The UK is a signatory to the GPA and as such is required to give access to its public procurement markets to suppliers from other GPA parties, above the thresholds set out in the relevant rows of paragraph 1. The GPA thresholds are updated every two years, meaning the thresholds in paragraph 1 must also be updated.
	Furthermore, it has been standard practice to update the defence and security thresholds in paragraph 1 to keep pace with the GPA thresholds (although there is no GPA obligation to do so). If that policy is maintained, the power in paragraph 2 may be used to update the defence and security thresholds similarly.
	Meanwhile paragraph 3 provides a separate power to update the "light touch" thresholds listed in the relevant rows of the table in paragraph 1. These thresholds are not determined by international obligations and as such will be updated for different purposes, for example to allow for inflation or reflect changing priorities for this category of contract. This power may also be used to update defence and security thresholds where a decision is made for them not to track the GPA thresholds.
	Paragraph 4 contains a definition of the term "works contract". It is defined as being a contract whose main purpose is either the carrying out of "works", which is itself defined in paragraph 5, or one that leads to the carrying out of works under a separate contract but complying with specifications set out in the main contract. This might, for example, capture a situation where a local authority enters into a contract for the sale of land to a developer (which would not be a public contract), but stipulates that the resulting private development must also contain a public library for the benefit of the community.
	Paragraph 5(1) defines other important terms used in this Schedule. It also contains two regulation-making powers permitting an appropriate authority to list: (a) those contracting authorities that are "central government authorities" for the purposes of this Schedule; and (b) those categories of activity that are to count as "works" for the purposes of defining a "works contract".  Paragraph 5(2) clarifies that references to contracts for goods, services or works and works contracts include references to frameworks for the future award of such contracts.  The relevant threshold for a framework therefore depends on the types of contracts to be awarded under the framework.