05/01/2023
*This Article was updated on 26 January 2023 to cover PPN 01/23 Requirements to publish on Contracts Finder*
Chapter 8 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) contains certain obligations for contracting authorities procuring contracts which are not regulated by Parts 1 – 3 of those Regulations, i.e. contracts which are below the financial thresholds for works, services and supplies (“below threshold contracts”). These obligations are often referred to as the Lord Young reforms and essentially apply to below threshold contracts which are above a certain value. The Government has made some slight adjustments to those values which contracting authorities and suppliers need to be aware of.
Under Chapter 8, authorities are required to publish information on Contracts Finder about below threshold contract opportunities and contracts awarded and are precluded from using a pre-qualification stage for below threshold procurements. Regulation 109 of the PCR previously provided that these below threshold obligations only applied to contracts which had a value of £10,000 or above (for central government authorities) and £25,000 and above (for sub-central authorities and NHS Trusts). Amendment regulations were made in 2021 which made these figures inclusive rather than exclusive of VAT from 1 January 2022. This meant that the below threshold obligations applied to lower value contracts last year, bringing more contracts into scope and increasing the burden on contracting authorities.
The Government has now remedied this issue with the introduction of the Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2022 which came into force on 21 December 2022. These Regulations change the values triggering the below threshold obligations to bring them back in line with the old VAT exclusive values as set out below. The Government has also taken the opportunity to clarify that the higher limit of £30,000 will apply to NHS Foundation Trusts as it does to NHS Trusts despite these bodies being listed as central government authorities in Schedule 1 to the PCR. The contract values have been amended as follows:
|
Old values (inclusive of VAT) |
|
|
Central authorities (including NHS FTs) |
£10,000 |
|
Sub-central authorities, NHS Trusts |
£25,000 |
|
New values (inclusive of VAT) applicable from 21 December 2022 |
|
|
Central authorities |
£12,000 |
|
Sub-central authorities, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts |
£30,000 |
The Cabinet Office has now also published PPN 01/23 which reminds public bodies of these regulatory changes.
PPN 01/23 replaces PPN 09/21 and provides consolidated guidance for public bodies detailing the current requirements under the PCR in relation to publishing information about opportunities and awards over certain values on Contracts Finder. For central government authorities, this includes the requirements around publication of tender documentation and copies of awarded contracts and the application of exemptions from publication. A copy of the guidance can be found here.
The Procurement Bill is due to come into force this year. Whilst the Bill is still subject to change, the current drafting indicates that it will replicate these below threshold obligations and that the values triggering them will remain the same.
If you would like to discuss this topic or the changes taking place under the Procurement Bill please contact Emily Heard.
