14 January 2025 
Ashley Shelbrooke, HEPA and Project Specialist
HEPA is pleased to share a template slide deck that members can utilise with stakeholders to communicate key messages relating to the upcoming Procurement Act, including: the aims of the Act, timeline, key features, impact throughout the procurement lifecycle, implementation, risks and implications.
The PSQ has been published on the Procurement Pathway tool. The relevant PPN is awaiting ministerial sign-off; HEPA will update all as soon as the PPN has been formally published. A reminder that there are two Communities of Practice sessions covering the PSQ this week – more information, including how to sign up, is available below.
The Cabinet Office are holding CoP covering two important topics this month- the PSQ and the Competitive Flexible Procedure.
Procurement Specific Questionnaire, led by Sam Russell
Competitive Flexible Procedure, led by Ian Sears OBE
To support you in your preparation for the implementation of the Act, the Cabinet Office are continuing to publish a suite of guidance documents and templates that address all aspects of the new regime, providing technical guidance, and help with interpretation and understanding. The hotly anticipated Competitive Flexible Procedure Guidance & Templates are now available to download from the Procurement Pathway tool.
To support readiness for the new regime, the Cabinet Office are running two webinars for suppliers this month. These sessions will focus primarily on what the key changes are, how the central digital platform will work (featuring a live demonstration), and will be an opportunity to ask questions. The Cabinet Office will record the sessions and make a recording available via their webpages on GOV.UK for those unable to attend.
Suppliers can book their places using the links below:
To make it easy for suppliers to find this information, the Cabinet Office have created a dedicated supplier information page on GOV.UK.
HEPA recently shared a letter from Adam Hill, Digital lead, Government Commercial Function which contains important information about getting ready for the Central Digital Platform (CDP) in advance of go-live for the Procurement Act 2023 on 24 February 2025.
Please do take the time to read the letter - it contains useful information to help you and your team prepare for the new regime. Please do share the communication across your institution as necessary, and begin to think about who will be best placed to fulfil the administrator role and the information you will need in order to register on the CDP. HEPA will confirm the onboarding window for our HE sector later this month.
Colleagues at UKUPC have kindly shared a very useful update regarding UK-wide interoperability and the upcoming Procurement Act which you can read on the discussion boards here.
The PVS opened for 2023/24 submissions last year, and will close on 14 February 2025. The Efficiency and PVS page on the HEPA website contains all the information you need to help you complete the PVS, including the Benefits Methodology and the explanatory webinar recording. The Help page contains answers to frequently asked questions such as treatment of VAT, calculating impactable spend, calculating spend with SMEs and the Procurement Performance Indicators (PPIs).
If you require access to the PVS then please do get in touch with Ashley.
A reminder that the Scope 3 HESCET tool was updated in November and released on the HEPA website for download last year.
Last, but by no means least, a reminder that registration is open for the 2025 BUFDG Finance Festival! You can find out more and book your place here – we are delighted to be joined by UKUPC and the Cabinet Office for workshops this year, amongst a whole host of other super interesting presenters from right across the world of university finance. Please do share the booking link with colleagues – the event is, as ever, free to all!
