These Regulations amend several existing statutory instruments governing UK public procurement, primarily focused on refining the operation of the central digital platform, enhancing transparency requirements for contract payments, and modifying rules for below-threshold tenders.
Key changes include detailing payment information disclosure, allowing alternative publication methods when the central platform is down, creating mechanisms to reserve contracts for SMEs and value-driven NGOs, streamlining supplier identification requirements for smaller contracts, and introducing ministerial notification requirements before terminating specific healthcare contracts on national security grounds.
Arguments For
Facilitates greater transparency in public procurement by mandating the publication of contract payment information under section 70(1) of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023).
Enhances support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and value-driven non-governmental organisations by allowing contracting authorities to reserve below-threshold contracts specifically for them.
Improves operational resilience by allowing procurement publication on alternative systems if the central digital platform is unavailable.
Clarifies and updates definitions and organizational listings for central government authorities within the procurement framework, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
Ensures national security considerations are appropriately handled during contract termination in healthcare services by requiring ministerial notification before exercising specified exclusion grounds.
Arguments Against
Imposes new administrative burdens on contracting authorities to confirm supplier registration and obtain unique identifiers for below-threshold contracts before notice publication, potentially slowing down smaller procurements.
Potential for delays in urgent direct awards relating to life protection or urgency (under section 42 or Schedule 5 of PA 2023) as confirmation requirements are adjusted to occur as soon as practicable before contract details notice, rather than strictly before the award.
The removal of the exemption for unique identifiers in below-threshold contract details notices might create technical difficulties for suppliers newly engaging with the system.
The changes to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations (PSR) introduce an extra procedural step (ministerial notification) for terminating contracts based on national security grounds, which could slow down necessary security responses.
This Statutory Instrument has been laid partly in consequence of defects in S.I. 2024/692 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that Statutory Instrument.
This legal document is being issued because there were identified flaws or shortcomings in a previous statutory instrument, S.I. 2024/692.
As a result, this new instrument is being provided at no cost to everyone who originally received the flawed instrument.
STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2026 No. 360 PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
The Procurement (Amendment) Regulations 2026
This identifies the document as a Statutory Instrument, numbered 360 of 2026, falling under the subject area of Public Procurement.
The formal title is 'The Procurement (Amendment) Regulations 2026'.
Made - - - - 23rd March 2026 Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1
The instrument was officially made on March 23, 2026.
It will come into legal effect according to the commencement provisions detailed in its first regulation.
The Minister for the Cabinet Office makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 95(1), (2) and (3), 97(1) and (2), 113(1), 115(1), 122(3)(c) and (d), 125(1) and 127(2) of, and paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 1 to, the Procurement Act 2023( 1 ).
The Minister for the Cabinet Office created these rules using specific powers granted under various sections and a schedule of the Procurement Act 2023.
These Regulations are made with the consent of the Department of Finance for Northern Ireland in accordance with section 113(4) of the Procurement Act 2023.
The legislation required the formal agreement of the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland, as mandated by a specific section of the Procurement Act 2023.
In accordance with section 122(4)(o), (p), (q) and (x) of the Procurement Act 2023, a draft of this instrument has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
A draft of these Regulations was officially presented to both Houses of Parliament, and both Houses subsequently passed a resolution to approve them, fulfilling requirements under the Procurement Act 2023.
Citation and commencement
- -(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Procurement (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
- (2) Regulations 1, 2, 3(1), 3(2)(b), 3(3), 3(4), 3(8), 3(9) and 4 come into force on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made.
- (3) Regulations 3(2)(a), 3(5), 3(6), 3(7) and 6 come into force on 1st April 2026.
- (4) Regulation 5 comes into force on 1st October 2026.
This section sets out how the regulations are formally named and when different parts take effect.
Most provisions start the day after the making date, but several key amendments related to payment information and supplier registration start on April 1, 2026.
Regulation 5 starts later, on October 1, 2026.
Extent and application
- The amendments made by these Regulations have the same extent and application as the provisions they amend.
The scope of these amendments—the geographic reach and the types of contracts or activities they apply to—will match the scope of the original legislation that is being modified.
Amendments to the Procurement Regulations 2024
- -(1) The Procurement Regulations 2024( 2 ) are amended as follows.
This begins the process of making specific changes to the existing Procurement Regulations 2024.
( 1 ) 2023 c. 54. See section 123(1) of the Procurement Act 2023 for the definitions of 'appropriate authority' and 'Minister of the Crown'.
( 2 ) S.I. 2024/692, as amended by S.I. 2025/163 and 2026/94.
These are footnotes providing citations for the Procurement Act 2023 and the version of the Procurement Regulations 2024 that are being amended, noting their previous updates.
(2) In regulation 5 (publication of notices etc on the central digital platform)-
- (a) after paragraph (3)(p), insert-
'(pa) section 70(1) (information about payments under public contracts),';
- (b) in paragraph (5), for 'all of the conditions in paragraph (6) are met' substitute 'the central digital platform is unavailable, or all of the conditions in paragraph (6) are met,'.
Changes are made to the rules for publishing notices on the central digital platform.
First, a requirement to publish information about payments under public contracts (section 70(1)) is added to the list of publication requirements.
Second, the circumstances allowing publication on an alternative system are expanded to explicitly include situations where the central digital platform itself is unavailable.
(3) In regulation 7 (core supplier information: platform not working, urgency, private utilities), for paragraph (4) substitute-
'(4) Paragraph (4A) applies in the case of-
- (a) a direct award of a public contract pursuant to regulations made under section 42 of the PA 2023 (direct award to protect life, etc), or
- (b) a direct award of a public contract pursuant to paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023 (urgency).
(4A) Regulation 6 is to be read as if-
- (a) the reference in paragraph (4) to the contracting authority obtaining confirmation before the award of the public contract were a reference to the authority obtaining confirmation as soon as practicable and in any event before the date when the contract details notice is published, and
- (b) paragraphs (6) to (8) were omitted.'.
This updates the rules concerning when core supplier information must be confirmed, especially when the platform is not working or due to urgency.
The provision now specifically covers direct awards made to protect life (under section 42 of PA 2023) or based on urgency (Schedule 5).
In these cases, confirmation of supplier registration no longer strictly needs to happen before the award, but must happen as soon as possible, and in any case, before the contract details notice is published.
(4) In regulation 24(2) (below-threshold tender notices)-
- (a) omit the 'and' after sub-paragraph (j);
- (b) after sub-paragraph (k), insert ', and
- (l) whether the notice is being used to reserve a contract to either or both of the following-
- (i) small and medium-sized enterprises;
- (ii) non-governmental organisations that are value-driven and which principally reinvest their surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives'.
This adds a new mandatory field to below-threshold tender notices.
Contracting authorities must now state if they are reserving the contract exclusively for SMEs or specifically for value-driven NGOs that reinvest their surpluses for social, environmental, or cultural goals.
(5) In regulation 36 (contract details notices: below-threshold contracts), in paragraph (2)(e)(iii) omit 'except where the supplier has not obtained one,'.
This removes an exemption within the rules for contract details notices for below-threshold contracts.
Previously, contracting authorities did not need to include a supplier's unique identifier if the supplier had not yet obtained one.
(6) After regulation 36, insert-
' Supplier registration on central digital platform: below-threshold contracts
36A. -(1) Before the publication of a contract details notice in accordance with section 87(3) of the PA 2023, the contracting authority must obtain from the supplier-
- (a) confirmation that the supplier has taken the steps set out in paragraph (2), and
- (b) its unique identifier.
(2) The steps are-
- (a) the supplier has registered on the central digital platform, and
- (b) the supplier has submitted the required information to that platform.
(3) In this regulation 'required information' means-
(a) the supplier's name,
(b) the supplier's contact postal address and email address, and
(c) whether the supplier is-
(i) a small and medium-sized enterprise, or
(ii) a non-governmental organisation that is value-driven and which principally reinvests its surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives.'.
A new regulation is inserted requiring contracting authorities to obtain confirmation that a supplier has registered on the central digital platform, along with the supplier’s unique identifier, before publishing a contract details notice for a below-threshold contract.
This confirmation verifies that the supplier has provided basic identification details and categorized itself (e.g., as an SME).
(7) After regulation 38 (payments compliance notices), insert-
' Contract payment information
38A. -(1) This regulation sets out what information about a payment must be published under section 70(1) of the PA 2023 ('the payment information').
(2) The payment information is-
- (a) in respect of the contracting authority which made the payment-
- (i) the name of the contracting authority,
- (ii) a contact postal address and email address for the contracting authority,
- (iii) the unique identifier for the contracting authority,
- (b) if different from sub-paragraph (a), the information referred to in that sub-paragraph in respect of the contracting authority which published the contract details notice under section 53 of the PA 2023 in respect of the relevant contract,
- (c) the unique identifier for-
- (i) the procurement, and
- (ii) the relevant contract,
- (d) in respect of each payment to which the payment information relates-
- (i) the name of the supplier to whom the payment was made, and
- (ii) the unique identifier for the supplier to whom the payment was made,
- (e) the value of the payment net of VAT, and
- (f) the date when the payment was made.
(3) A unique identifier is not required to be published by virtue of paragraph (2)(c) or (d) (ii) if-
- (a) no notice relating to the relevant contract has been previously published on the central digital platform, and
- (b) the unique identifier is not available.
(4) In paragraphs (2)(b), (c) and (3), the relevant contract is the public contract under which the payment to which the payment information relates was made.
(5) Nothing in this regulation prevents a contracting authority from publishing other relevant information alongside the payment information.'.
This inserts a detailed new regulation specifying exactly what information ('payment information') must be published concerning payments made under public contracts, as required by section 70(1) of the PA 2023.
This includes details about both the paying authority and the receiving supplier, the payment value (excluding VAT), and the date, alongside associated unique identifiers for the contract and payment.
Exceptions exist for omitting identifiers if no prior notice appeared on the platform and the identifier is unobtainable.
(8) In regulation 50 (application of Parts 2 and 3 in relation to devolved Scottish authorities), for 'Schedule 9' substitute 'Schedule 9A'.
A technical correction is made in the rules concerning devolved Scottish authorities, updating a reference from 'Schedule 9' to the new designation 'Schedule 9A' within the 2024 Regulations.
(9) In the table in Schedule 2 (central government authorities)-
- (a) in the entry for 'Department for Culture, Media and Sport', for the entries for 'Historic Buildings and Monuments' and 'Commission for England (known as 'Historic England')' substitute-
'Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (known as 'Historic England')';
- (b) in the entry for 'Department for Transport', for 'Highways England Company Ltd (known as 'Highways England')' substitute 'National Highways Company Ltd (known as 'National Highways')';
- (c) omit-
'Office for National Statistics
National Health Service Central Register';
- (d) after the entry for 'Police Retraining and Rehabilitation Trust' insert-
'Postal business of the Post Office';
- (e) after the entry for 'HM Treasury' insert-
'UK Statistics Authority
Office for National Statistics'.
Several administrative updates are applied to the list of central government authorities in Schedule 2.
This corrects a formatting error for Historic England, updates the name for the body managing England's major road network (now National Highways), removes the previous entries for the Office for National Statistics and NHS Central Register, inserts the Postal business of the Post Office, and re-inserts the Office for National Statistics under the UK Statistics Authority.
Amendments to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023
- In regulation 22 (termination of contracts) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023( 3 ), after paragraph (3), insert-
- '(4) A relevant authority must not terminate a contract, whether by reference to provisions in the contract or the implied term in paragraph (3), on the basis of the mandatory exclusion ground in paragraph 35 of Schedule 6 to the Procurement Act 2023 (threat to national security) unless the authority has notified a Minister of the Crown of its intention.
- (5) A relevant authority must not terminate a contract, whether by reference to provisions in the contract or the implied term in paragraph (3), on the basis of the discretionary exclusion ground in paragraph 14 of Schedule 7 to the Procurement Act 2023 (threat to national security) unless-
- (a) the authority has notified a Minister of the Crown of its intention, and
- (b) the Minister considers that-
- (i) the provider or a sub-contractor is an excludable supplier by reference to paragraph 14 of Schedule 7 to the Procurement Act 2023, and
- (ii) the contract should be terminated.'.
Changes are made to the regulations governing healthcare provider selection regarding contract termination based on national security risks.
For mandatory exclusion grounds (Schedule 6, para 35), a relevant authority cannot terminate without first informing a Minister of the Crown.
For discretionary exclusion grounds (Schedule 7, para 14), termination requires both ministerial notification and the Minister's specific agreement that the supplier is excludable on those grounds and that termination is necessary.
Amendments to the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024
- In regulation 5 (saving provisions relating to the 2015 Regulations) of the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024( 4 )-
- (a) in paragraph (1), for 'paragraph (4)(b), (c), (d) and (e)'( 5 ), substitute 'paragraph (4)(aa) to (e)';
- (b) after paragraph (4)(a), insert-
- '(aa) regulation 2(1) of those Regulations (definitions) is to be read as if after the definition of 'candidate' there were inserted-
''central digital platform' has the meaning given by regulation 5(2) of the Procurement Regulations 2024 (publication of notices etc on central digital platform)';
- (c) after paragraph (4)(b), insert-
- '(ba) those Regulations are to be read as if regulation 106 of those Regulations (publication of information on Contracts Finder where contract notices are used) were omitted;
- (bb) regulation 108 of those Regulations (publication of information on Contracts Finder about contracts awarded) is to be read as if-
- (i) in the heading, for 'Contracts Finder' there were substituted 'the central digital platform',
- (ii) paragraph (1)(a) were omitted,
- (iii) in paragraphs (2) and (6)(a), for 'Contracts Finder' there were substituted 'the central digital platform',
- (iv) paragraph (5) were omitted,
- (v) in paragraph (6)(b), the words '(having regard, where relevant, to paragraph (5))' were omitted, and
- (vi) paragraphs (7) to (9) were omitted;
- (bc) regulation 112 of those Regulations (publication of information on Contracts Finder about contracts awarded - below-threshold procurements) is to be read as if in the heading and paragraphs (1) and (3)(a), for 'Contracts Finder' there were substituted 'the central digital platform';'.
These amendments transition transitional savings provisions away from the old 'Contracts Finder' system towards the new 'central digital platform'.
This involves updating references, ensuring the definition of the digital platform is included in the older 2015 Regulations for continuity, and specifically omitting or substituting references to 'Contracts Finder' with 'the central digital platform' across several regulations dealing with post-award publication of contract information.
Transitional provisions
- -(1) The amendments made by regulation 3(2)(a) and (7) do not affect any procurement commenced before the date on which section 70 of the Procurement Act 2023 comes into force.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a procurement is commenced before the date on which section 70 of that Act comes into force if before that date-
- (a) a tender notice has been published in accordance with section 21(1) of that Act (tender notices and associated tender documents) or provided in accordance with section 40(1) to (3) of that Act (qualifying utilities dynamic market notices: no duty to publish a tender notice),
- (b) a transparency notice has been published in accordance with section 44(1) of that Act (transparency notices),
- (c) in respect of a contract to be awarded in accordance with a framework to which neither sub-paragraph (a) nor (b) applies, a contracting authority has contacted a supplier in order to commence the award of that contract,
- (d) a below-threshold tender notice has been published in accordance with section 87(1) of that Act( 6 ) (regulated below-threshold contracts: notices),
- (e) a contracting authority has invited the submission of tenders in relation to a regulated below-threshold contract (see section 85(1) of that Act (regulated below-threshold contracts: procedure)), or
- (f) in respect of a below-threshold contract to which neither sub-paragraph (d) nor (e) applies, a contracting authority has contacted a supplier in order to commence the award of that contract.
This regulation protects ongoing procurements from the effects of certain new rules concerning payment information publication (amendments from regulation 3(2)(a) and (7)).
A procurement is considered 'commenced' for transition purposes if various triggering actions—such as publishing a tender notice, transparency notice, or issuing initial contact regarding a contract—occurred before the relevant date for section 70 commencement.
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