Your information hub
Significant changes to Procurement Law are on the horizon. Together, the Procurement Bill and Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill (SPPP Bill) will reform public procurement in England and Wales. Once these bills come into force, contracting authorities and tenderers alike will need to get to grips with a whole new body of law, utilising differing terminology, imposing different obligations and granting different rights.
We have created a dedicated hub of resources to provide you with essential updates, information and crucial detail of the changes in the law. We will help you to understand the changes and to have confidence that you are able to procure effectively and lawfully once the changes are enacted and implemented.
The hub includes a dedicated webinar series to answer all of your questions and help you prepare for the changes. Plus an additional suite of resources to provide you with further detail on the changes in the law, key timings and tips.
Status updates
Social Partnership & Public Procurement (Wales) Bill
Live status: received Royal Assent
The SPPP Bill received Royal Assent on 25 May 2023 and is now in force as the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023.
Procurement Bill
Live status: received Royal Assent
The Procurement Bill received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and is now in force as the Procurement Act 2023.
What’s changing?
The year 2023 is set to be significant for procurement reform in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In this video, Emily provides us with a short, 5-minute overview of what is changing and why contracting authorities and tenderers alike need to know about the changes. In this video, Emily focuses on two separate pieces of primary legislation making their way through two separate legislative processes:
- the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill
- the Procurement Bill.
Both Bills are due to be enacted in 2023.
On 18 August 2021 the Welsh Government made a written announcement that provision for the Welsh Contracting Authorities is to be made within the Procurement Bill. Consequently, both the SPPP Bill and the Procurement Bill will apply to public procurement activities in Wales. The Procurement Bill will also apply procurement activity in England and Northern Ireland.
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill
The SPPP Bill is a Welsh Government Bill which was introduced into the Senedd on 7 June 2022. It is currently anticipated that it will come into force in Spring 2023.
The Welsh Government defines the SPPP Bill as, “a framework to enhance the well-being of the people of Wales by improving public services through social partnership working, promoting fair work and social responsible public procurement”.
Key features of the SPPP Bill include the establishment of a Social Partnership Council, and a statutory duty on certain public bodies to consider socially responsible public procurement when carrying out public procurement activity.
We will be discussing the SPPP Bill in more detail, and what it means for Contracting Authorities and bidders in Wales, as part of our webinar series. Provided in conjunction with the Welsh Government, the Future of Public Procurement series – SPPP Bill deep dive webinar is taking place on Thursday 9 March.
Procurement Bill
Introduced in the House of Lords on 11 May 2022, the Procurement Bill is currently anticipated to come into force later in 2023.
The purposes of the Procurement Bill are to reform the existing public procurement regulations, to create a simpler and more transparent procurement regime, and move procurement in the UK away from transposed EU Directives.
Put simply, this Bill will reform the “nuts and bolts” of how public procurement is carried out and regulated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We will be discussing the Procurement Bill in more detail, and what it means for Contracting Authorities and tenderers as part of our webinar series. Provided in conjunction with the Welsh Government, the Future of Public Procurement series – the Procurement Bill deep dive webinar is taking place on Tuesday 28 March.
Contact us
For more information, please contact our specialist team.
Webinar series
The future of public procurement
An overview of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill and Procurement Bill. Emily Powell, Partner & Head of Procurement at Hugh James, sets out the aims of both of these bills and their current anticipated timetable. She covers an overview of what is anticipated from them and what this may mean for contracting authorities and tenderers.
SPPP Bill deep dive
Matt Detheridge, Procurement Solicitor at Hugh James, is joined by Sue Hurrell, Head of Fair Work Procurement at Welsh Government, providing a holistic session that covers not only the legislation but key tips for what you, as contracting authorities, will need to do to comply with the anticipated requirements of the Bill in practice.
Procurement Bill deep dive
Emily Powell, Partner & Head of Procurement at Hugh James, is joined by Carl Thomas, Procurement Reform Stakeholder & Policy Lead at Welsh Government. They look to answer the question, “what does this mean for me and what do I have to do?” to ensure you have a sound understanding of the upcoming changes and are as well prepared as possible.
Our dedicated webinar series will help you, as contracting authorities and those supplying them, achieve a thorough understanding of the changes in the law and what you need to know in order to be ready for the upcoming changes.
Join our free webinar series and ensure you’re able to procure effectively and lawfully once the changes are enacted and implemented.
Contact our procurement team
Emily is a partner in the Corporate and Commercial team. Emily specialises in commercial law, public procurement and subsidy control. Emily has advised housing associations on their procurement processes and can provide a complete legal service for all procurement and project requirements. Emily also hosts a forum for ‘heads of’ procurement working within the social housing sector.
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