UK Council Adopts New Procurement Strategy
Hartlepool Borough Council in the UK is developing a new procurement strategy for 2025-2029, aligning with the UK's National Procurement Policy Statement. The strategy emphasizes social value as a key criterion and prepares suppliers for the new Procurement Act 2023, which reshapes public procurement law.
- The UK's Procurement Act 2023 shifts the basis for awarding public contracts from the "most economically advantageous tender" (MEAT) to the "most advantageous tender" (MAT). This legislative change allows public bodies to give greater weight to social and environmental factors, not just the lowest price. - Under the new rules that came into effect on February 24, 2025, social value must have a minimum weighting of 10% in all public sector tender evaluations. However, many local authorities and other public bodies are already allocating 15-30% of the total score to social value. - The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) now requires contracting authorities to prioritize economic growth by increasing their spending with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs). This is intended to boost local economies and create jobs. - For contracts valued at over £5 million, the Procurement Act 2023 mandates that contracting authorities must set and publish at least three key performance indicators (KPIs). It is anticipated that many authorities will include a KPI specifically to measure the delivery of social value. - A new central digital platform, an enhancement of the existing Find a Tender service, aims to simplify the bidding process by allowing suppliers to register and store their core business details for multiple bids. This is part of a broader effort to remove bureaucratic hurdles for smaller businesses. - The Act introduces a "competitive flexible" procedure, giving procurement teams more freedom to design procurement processes that are not rigidly defined. It also creates more open commercial frameworks to prevent suppliers from being excluded for long periods. - A new Procurement Review Unit (PRU) will be established to oversee public procurement practices. This unit will also manage a central debarment list, which can prevent suppliers from winning public tenders for reasons such as poor performance or unethical behavior. - Hartlepool Borough Council is a member of the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO), a collaborative body that develops procurement solutions and frameworks for public sector bodies in the region. This allows the council to procure common goods and services through pre-established agreements with a range of suppliers, from SMEs to large corporations.
