Transforming Public Procurement - October 2024 update

NPPS stakeholder survey

Following the announcement that the Procurement Act 2023 will now commence on 24 February 2025 to allow time for a new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) to be produced, we are currently running a stakeholder survey to seek ideas and insights from stakeholders and experts on how best to shape the NPPS to support a new, mission-driven approach to public procurement.

The survey is structured around four open questions and can be accessed here. The survey will close at midday on Monday 4 November 2024.

New guidance documents published

To support stakeholders in their preparation for the Act, we are publishing a suite of guidance documents that address all aspects of the new regime, providing technical guidance, and help with interpretation and understanding.

Today we have published two new Procurement Act 2023 guidance documents:

• Publication of Information and the Central Digital Platform - which can be found in the ‘Procure’ section of our guidance pages, and
• Devolved Contracting Authorities - which can be found in the ‘Plan’ section of our guidance pages.

To complement publication of the Publication of Information and the Central Digital Platform guidance we have also published a handy factsheet, which covers key FAQs about the platform for both suppliers and buyers.

We anticipate our remaining official guidance documents will be published by the end of November.

We have also updated our information leaflet for suppliers, which includes a dedicated FAQ. As we get closer to go-live more guidance and information for suppliers will be published, including specific ‘how-to’ videos and step-by-step guides for registering and using the central digital platform.

Learning & Development

With the go-live date for the new regime now 24 February 2025, it is important for stakeholders to maintain momentum with their training, using the additional time to reinforce their learning with the official L&D and guidance products, and participating in our Communities of Practice. The Communities of Practice are an active and supporting network with a regular programme of meet-ups and message-board discussions exploring and discussing specific areas of the Act and an excellent way to test your understanding and learn from colleagues across the public sector.

To recap on our official L&D products:

• Knowledge drops - on-demand video resources (approx 40 min) providing an overview of all of the changes. Aimed at everyone (including non-commercial leaders, suppliers and others) who need a general level of awareness of the new rules.

• Self guided e-learning - this is our core L&D product and is available to all procurement/commercial staff in contracting authorities, giving a comprehensive grounding of knowledge and understanding of the new regime. It will comprise ten 1-hour modules and conclude with a Skilled Practitioner Certification.

• Advanced course of deep dives - for a subset of those who complete the e-learning, a 3-day virtual course of interactive “deep dive” webinars led by subject matter experts, allowing a deeper insight across the full spectrum of the legislative change.

• Communities of Practice (CoP) - the formal follow-up to the e-learning and deep dives. These monthly meet-ups focus on 2-3 key topics each session, offering a collaborative environment  for continuous learning. This community of 6,500 procurement professionals offers practical sessions to embed the knowledge gained from the L&D sessions. The CoP portal, hosted on the Government Commercial College (GCC), enables participants to register for events, access programme/implementation resources and engage in  community discussion forums. The next meet-ups are scheduled for the 6 and 7 November, where the latest developments on the Central Digital Platform will be discussed and demonstrated. You can book your place via the CoP page on the GCC.

Central Digital Platform update

As part of Transforming Public Procurement and the forthcoming enactment of the Procurement Act 2023, we have begun Private Beta testing for an upgrade to the Find a Tender service. This will be the central digital platform for commercial specialists in the public sector, and for suppliers from businesses, including smaller organisations and those in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors.

For most stakeholder groups the private beta cohort is now full and nominees have already been coordinated across all of our programme stakeholder groups. However, we are keen to hear from volunteers who have additional accessibility needs and test it for any accessibility barriers and problems. If you would be keen to take part or would like additional information on what is involved in private beta please email tppdigital@cabinetoffice.gov.uk