Procurement Act 2023: What It Means for SMEs | BidWinUK
The rules for winning public sector work changed in February 2025. Here’s what’s different, what it means for smaller businesses, and what to do about it, in plain English.
On 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 replaced the old patchwork of public procurement rules across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Scotland runs its own system, so if you’re bidding for Scottish public contracts, its own rules still apply.)
Nearly two years on, most buyers have settled into the new system. Plenty of smaller suppliers haven’t. That matters, because the Act doesn’t just change the paperwork. It changes when bidding really starts, how you’re judged, and how long your track record follows you.
Here’s what you actually need to know.
Bidding now starts long before the tender
Under the old rules, the starting gun was the tender being published. You had a few weeks, you wrote your response, you pressed submit.
That window still exists, but it’s no longer where most of the work happens. Buyers now publish far more in advance on Find a Tender, the government’s central platform for public contract notices. That includes pipeline notices (what they plan to buy in the coming months) and preliminary market engagement notices (an invitation to talk to them before the tender is written).
For an SME, that’s a real opportunity. You can spot work months ahead, get in front of the buyer, find a partner if there’s a gap in what you can deliver, and start building the evidence you’ll need. Businesses that wait for the tender to land are now starting the race late.
Tenders can look very different now
The Act gives buyers two main routes:
The open procedure. The familiar one. Everyone submits a bid, the buyer evaluates, a winner is chosen.
The competitive flexible procedure. New, and much more varied. Buyers can design the process around what they’re buying, which might mean several stages, interviews, presentations, demonstrations or negotiation.
That second route matters. Winning might now mean a strong written response, then presenting it to a panel, then negotiating on it, and staying consistent across all three. If you’ve only ever prepared for the written part, it’s worth thinking now about who in your team can present and handle questions with confidence.
The test has changed too. Contracts are now awarded to the “most advantageous tender” rather than the “most economically advantageous tender”. It’s a small change in wording with a clear message: price isn’t the whole story. Quality, social value and how you’ll deliver all count.
Frameworks: a second chance you didn’t used to get
A framework is a list of approved suppliers that buyers can award contracts to without running a full tender every time. Traditionally, once a framework was awarded it was closed. If you missed it or lost, you could be locked out for years.
The Act introduces open frameworks, which have to reopen to new suppliers during their lifetime: at least once in the first three years, then at least once in every five years after that, up to a maximum of eight years. Buyers can reopen them more often if they choose.
Not every framework is open. Standard frameworks are still closed and usually last up to four years, with longer terms allowed in some areas such as defence and utilities. But where an open framework exists, losing first time round isn’t the end. Note the reopening dates and plan for them.
Your track record now follows you
This is the part that tends to get overlooked. The Act makes contract performance far more visible. For contracts worth more than £5 million, buyers must set key performance indicators and publish how suppliers are performing against them. More generally, information about who won what, and how it went, is now much easier to find.
There’s also a new central debarment list. Suppliers can be barred from future public contracts where certain exclusion grounds apply, and buyers can look beyond your business itself to the people and organisations around you, such as directors, parent companies and subcontractors you rely on.
The upshot is simple: how you deliver today affects what you can win tomorrow. Good performance becomes evidence. Poor performance becomes a risk.
What to do now
Register on Find a Tender and keep your supplier information up to date.
Set up alerts for pipeline and market engagement notices in your sector, not just tenders.
Note when relevant open frameworks are due to reopen.
Before you write a word, read how the procurement will run. It should shape your whole approach.
Build a library of evidence as you go: case studies, results, testimonials and social value outcomes.
Check your compliance, including the people and businesses connected to you.
Treat every contract you deliver as part of your next bid.
The honest bottom line
The Procurement Act is good news for SMEs. The system is more open, there are more ways in, and buyers are expected to think about the barriers smaller businesses face. But it rewards preparation. The suppliers doing well under the new rules are the ones watching the market early, building evidence as they go, and treating bidding as an ongoing process rather than a scramble before a deadline.
That’s exactly how we work with our clients.
Have a tender you’re considering, or wondering what the Procurement Act means for your next bid? Book a 30-minute call with one of our experts to talk through your goals, your current opportunities and how we can help you win more of them.
