Procurement Act 2023

Are you aware of this legislation which comes into force from October 2024?

If you weren’t don’t worry as it’s very unlikely to apply to most TMOs. So why are we posting about it?

Well, simply put, it’s because one of our Members has been “instructed” by the landlord of their homes to update their procurement policy to include reference to it. So we thought it’s as well to be prepared if your TMO is approached for similar reasons.

The main question you’ll need to answer is – are you covered by the Public Contract Regulations (2015)?

If the landlord of your homes has never raised the need to comply with these regulations then the likelihood is that you aren’t. In which case the Procurement Act won’t apply to you either. It’s not retroactive and the guidance states that

“Entities that were contracting authorities under the previous legislation should still be contracting authorities (unless their status has changed, for example because their funding has changed from mainly public to mainly private sector or they are now operating commercially, whereas previously they were not). Similarly, entities that were not caught by the definition in the previous legislation should not be caught by the new definition, unless their circumstances have changed. There is no intention to try and catch new entities, or to exclude entities that were covered previously – the aim is for a consistent effect, ensuring a smooth transition from the previous legislation to the new.”

There is also the current definition requirements (see link below). Either 12(a) or 12(b) must apply as well as 13 – do you operate commercially?

Guidance_-_Contracting_Authority_Definition (3)