Bedding In the New Procurement Regime: Compliance Priorities for 2026
The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent in October 2023 and its new regime commenced on 24 February 2025. For contracting authorities and suppliers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the operational phase is now well established. As 2026 draws to a close, the question is less about what the Act says and more about whether organisations have embedded the behaviours, records and governance that the new framework demands.
From implementation to assurance
Early implementation activity focused on training, template changes and the Central Digital Platform. Those remain important, but mature compliance now depends on assurance: can an authority demonstrate why a route to market was chosen, how conflicts were managed, why a bidder was excluded and how performance will be measured? The Act gives authorities greater flexibility, particularly through the competitive flexible procedure and direct award grounds. Flexibility increases rather than reduces the need for a contemporaneous audit trail.
Common compliance pitfalls
Several themes are recurring in reviews and internal audits.
- Notice discipline. Procurement notices are not administrative afterthoughts. Their timing and content shape transparency and may affect challenge risk. Authorities should check who is responsible for publication, what information is being published and whether the record matches the decision actually taken.
- Route to market rationale. The choice between open, competitive flexible, framework, dynamic market or direct award should be recorded at the point of decision. A short, clear justification is more valuable than a retrospective explanation.
- Conflicts and exclusion grounds. Declarations must be current, proportionate and properly recorded. Authorities should also consider how they will monitor exclusion grounds and the debarment list during the procurement and, where relevant, during contract performance.
- Evaluation records. Evaluation panels need consistent moderation, clear scoring notes and a record of how feedback was given. The flexibility of the new regime does not relax the requirement for equal treatment and transparency.
- Contract management and key performance indicators. Where the Act requires performance information to be published or monitored, authorities should ensure that contractual reporting obligations are workable. KPIs that cannot be measured are unlikely to withstand scrutiny.
- Legacy thinking. Old Public Contracts Regulations 2015 terminology, templates and assumptions still appear in some documentation. They can create confusion about notice requirements, standstill and debriefing.
What the first challenges tell us
Reported procurement challenges under the new regime remain relatively limited, and many disputes still concern procurements governed by the previous regulations. That should not breed complacency. Courts continue to test decisions against established principles of equal treatment, transparency and proportionality, and the Procurement Review Unit provides an additional route for scrutiny. A well-documented process is the best defence, not because it guarantees the absence of challenge, but because it allows an authority to explain its decisions coherently and promptly.
Authorities should also remember that the absence of a reported judgment does not mean the absence of risk. Complaints, Freedom of Information requests, internal reviews and supplier debriefs can all expose weaknesses in process before any formal challenge is issued.
Practical priorities for 2026 and beyond
A sensible compliance programme for the year ahead should include the following.
- Refresh procurement strategy and governance in light of the National Procurement Policy Statement and the authority's own priorities.
- Review templates, evaluation matrices and contract terms so that they reflect the Act rather than legacy practice.
- Train evaluation panels and contract managers on conflicts, record-keeping and performance reporting.
- Verify notice publication arrangements and ensure that roles and deadlines are clear.
- Map the contract portfolio and identify legacy arrangements that require particular attention.
- Engage suppliers early where market shaping is genuinely intended, while keeping engagement transparent and documented.
The supplier perspective
Suppliers also need to adapt. They should read notices carefully, engage in preliminary market engagement openly, keep records of clarifications and ensure that any challenge is brought promptly. The regime rewards early engagement, but not informal influence. Suppliers who understand the published process are better placed to compete and to hold authorities to the standards the Act requires.
Conclusion
The Procurement Act 2023 has moved from novelty to routine operation. The authorities that manage it best will be those that treat transparency, documentation and contract management as part of the procurement process rather than as burdens imposed at the end. LGSS Law advises public and private sector clients on procurement strategy, compliance and dispute risk. This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice.
