How to prepare for the new Procurement Bill

The new Procurement Bill means change, which brings both opportunity and risk.

The new bill will be the most significant change to public procurement practice in a generation. While it has echoes with the outgoing Public Contract Regulations 2015, it brings entirely new elements and will require every public sector organisation to make significant changes.

In our seminars and across the sector, we have seen plenty of discussion around what elements of new legislation might mean for us all as procurement specialists. Of course, this will continue until the bill is passed as an Act of Parliament and after. However, the challenge will be distilling, understanding and implementing the changes required.

Procurement affects organisations far beyond only the lawyers and procurement specialists. We all need to think specifically about how the new act should be introduced into organisational practice, including the below considerations. 

1. Where should this change be led from to gather the greatest support and chance to succeed?
2. How will it be delivered?
3. Who in the organisation will need to be involved – within and outside of your procurement teams? 
4. How will information be cascaded?
5. What support and guidance will be required ahead of the act coming into law?
6. How to operationalise the new act and reflect it in policy and procedures that govern your organisation?

The breadth and detail of the change requirements is likely to be the same regardless of the size of the organisation. However, larger organisations will have to implement changes across a greater number/range of staff and activities. Smaller organisations, meanwhile, may have smaller numbers to deal with, but lack the bandwidth to accommodate changes in the required timeframes. Both challenges require advance preparation and planning.

We will be running dedicated webinars and seminars on implementing changes to share thoughts on planning for the new act over the coming months.

For information on what the Government Commercial Function are advising organisations to do visit: Transforming Public Procurement - planning and preparation checklist