The Procurement Act 2023: what it means for digital buying

On 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 changed the rules that govern how public bodies buy goods and services. Procurements started since then follow the new regime; those already under way continue under the previous regulations. For digital services, where the right solution is often not fully known at the outset, several of the changes are particularly useful.

Two procedures, one of them flexible

The Act provides two competitive tendering procedures. The open procedure is a single-stage process. The competitive flexible procedure allows the contracting authority to design a process suited to the requirement and the market, provided it complies with the Act. For digital work, that flexibility can accommodate stages such as negotiation, demonstrations or a short paid exercise, which help buyers judge how a supplier would actually approach the problem.

Award on the most advantageous tender

Contracts are now awarded on the basis of the "most advantageous tender", rather than the "most economically advantageous tender". Government guidance is clear that this is not a change of policy, but it makes explicit that contracts need not be awarded on lowest price. For software, where quality, security and the ability to hand over and maintain the service matter as much as cost, this is a helpful emphasis.

Clearer routes for smaller suppliers

A stated aim of the Act is to open public procurement to small and medium-sized enterprises. Measures include:

• a duty on contracting authorities to have regard to the barriers smaller suppliers face, and to consider how to reduce them
• a single registration on Find a Tender, the central digital platform, where opportunities are published and can be searched at no cost
• 30-day payment terms on a broader range of public sector contracts
• open frameworks, which can be reopened to new suppliers, and dynamic markets, which qualified suppliers can join at any time

Departments are also publishing forward pipelines of their larger procurements and setting targets for spending with smaller suppliers, which gives the market earlier notice of what is coming.

What this means in practice

For teams buying digital services, the Act rewards preparation. Engaging the market early, before the requirement is fixed, helps shape a realistic specification. Dividing large requirements into lots makes it easier for specialists to bid. Evaluation criteria that give real weight to quality, security and handover encourage the right proposals. For smaller or urgent pieces of work, existing frameworks and agreements, including many awarded before the Act came into force, remain a quick and compliant route.

What the Act does not change is the importance of a clear problem statement and well-defined outcomes. A flexible procedure built around a vague requirement will still produce vague proposals.

As a small specialist supplier, brytloop welcomes these changes. We are accredited on NEPRO³ and available through Public Sector Resourcing, and we are always willing to take part in early market engagement.