Who are the APMP UK Procurement Focus Group?

• Strengthened approach to Conflicts of Interest (COI)
  
  • If a conflict of interest cannot be mitigated or avoided, then that supplier must be excluded from the procuremen
  • Contracting Authorities will need to carry out a COI assessment
  • Designed to demonstrate that the procurement process is being managed fairly.

• Easier for suppliers to participate
  
  • New Central Digital Platform built on the existing Find a Tender system
  • Single procurement system for suppliers to provide their business credentials in a ‘tell us once’ fashion and therefore reducing duplication of supplying that standard information in the early stages of a procurement.
  • The platform will allow suppliers to set up custom searches and receive alerts to opportunities that match your business interests.
  • The platform will be free to access. The expectation is that buyers will use their existing e-procurement systems to publish procurement notices and manage tender submissions.
  • It will be the responsibility of the supplier to ensure their information on the Platform is kept up to date.

• Better value for money
  
  • Introduction of Most Advantageous Tender – MAT thereby broadening the range of award criteria that may be used in a procurement
  • Sets the standard that procurement teams are interested in more than just the lowest price and that wider value and impact are important
  • Suppliers can show how they can deliver value to their local economies – such as social value

• Emphasis on early supplier engagement
  
  • Through publishing pipeline notices for contracts over £2m by all contracting authorities that spend over £100m per annum at the start of each financial year
  • New preliminary market engagement notice alerts suppliers to early market engagement activities. Designed to help buyers understand what the market can offer and the opportunities for innovation, suppliers can use these opportunities to shape and inform the procedure.

• Flexibility in procurement procedures
  
  • Two types of competition – open and competitive flexible
  • Contracting authorities can now design procurement processes to best suit the market
  • Competitive flexible allows for additional stages to create a multi-stage tendering process, opening up opportunity for negotiation and dialogue with suppliers
  • Product demonstrations and prototyping can be built into the tender assessment process
  • Transparency requirements will ensure authorities clearly set our their procedures in advance and communicate information through tender notices and associated documents
  • Pre-market engagement set out as best practice.

• Frameworks and dynamic markets
  
  • Introduction of Open Frameworks providing flexibility to appoint new suppliers and suppliers can join at different stages. Frameworks will reopen within first 3 years and should not be closed for more than 5 consecutive years.
  • Dynamic markets are a list of qualified suppliers eligible for future procurements. Suppliers can join at any time.
  • All frameworks and dynamic markets will be listed on a register within the Digital Platform

• Direct Awards
  
  • New provision for emergency procurement
  • Contracting authorities must publish a transparency notice when intending to direct award

• Exclusions
  
  • Mandatory and discretionary grounds that could exclude a supplier
  • Contracting authorities can take into account a broader range of evidence to demonstrate action to resolve any grounds for exclusions – e.g. change of staff
  • Suppliers cannot avoid potential exclusion by tendering through a subsidiary or by dissolving and reforming under a different name
  • Contracting authorities must ask for information about subcontractors that you intend to use to deliver the contract

• Debarment
  
  • The debarment list will set out which suppliers must and may be excluded from a procurement
  • If there has been a material change in circumstance, the supplier can apply to have their name removed from the debarment list

• Change in award procedures
  
  • Post tender feedback will be provided in the form of an assessment summary for your organisation, the winning supplier’s assessment summary and may be accompanied by additional feedback
  • 8 working day standstill period
  • Publication of contract awards for all over £5m and redacted copies of the contract.

• More effective contract management
  
  • The transparency requirements set out in the Act provides an opportunity for contracting authorities to improve contract management practice – working alongside suppliers.
  • Any contract over £5m in value must have three Key Performance Indicators and publish information on supplier performance
  • Contract Change Notices must be published before a contract is amended
  • Must publish details where a breach of contract or persistent poor performance
  • Recording and publishing details of contract spend more than £30,000
  • Publishing a Contract Termination Notice whenever a contract comes to an end
  • Only information that would be required under Freedom of Information will be considered for publication – confidential and commercially sensitive information will remain secure. More guidance will be published on what is non publishable information – such as profit margins and elements of a tender that shows innovation or unique technical aspects.

• Wider Commitments on Prompt Payment
  
  • 30 day payment terms automatically passed down to suppliers and their subcontractors regardless of whether they are written into a contract
  • Greater accountability for public bodies on their payment practices through publishing payment performance data

• More Flexibility in Making Contract Amendments
  
  • All of the amendment grounds from the previous regulations have been retained with the addition of new grounds to cover scenarios such as urgency and the protection of life to address complex risks.
  • Designed to prevent a re-compete of a contract when a contract amendment would solve the issue.

• Transparency Ambition
  
  • The Central Digital Platform will house all data from planning, procurement, contract implementation and finalisation
  • Tender opportunities more visible and accessible in one place
  • Identification of opportunities through visible pipeline
  • Opportunities to take place in pre-market engagement
  • Visibility of performance information

• Improved Procurement Oversight
  
  • Increased confidence poor practices will be identified and resolve
  • Procurement Review Unit will encourage compliance with the Act, investigate suppliers in addition to the debarment list and investigate poor procurement practice.
  • A place to field any direct complaints

• What can suppliers do to prepare for the Procurement Act?
  
  • Understand the main changes
  • Identify opportunities for collaboration
  • Submit information on the Central Digital Platform when available
  • Use pipelines to plan your bidding strategy
  • Identify how you can support wider procurement priorities
  • Identify if you fall into any of the new exclusions and undertake steps until you do
  • Existing procurement processes will remain in place until the Procurement Act goes live.
  • Existing agreements will remain unchanged until that agreement expires

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The core information in the SME knowledge drop is similar to that of the supplier knowledge drop, with a nuanced focus on the benefits to SME organisations, covering:

• The main changes under the new Procurement Act
• The measures that may benefit how you do business with the public sector
• The introduction of new, more flexible procedures
• How the Act enables you to demonstrate your capabilities
• The increased opportunities for negotiation, engagement and innovation
• The new central digital platform
• Your obligations under the new rules as a supplier
• The key actions you may need to take and consider to prepare for the changes

The SME knowledge drops highlight the new duty for contracting authorities to have regard to SME participation and to reduce the barriers they may face. This includes:

• Addressing challenges
• Ensuring requirements are proportionate
• Consider procurements from SME perspective
• Diverse representation in pre-market engagements
• Tender response times are realistic.

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