The Procurement Act one year on: what has changed for local government?
The Procurement Act has moved beyond preparation and training into day-to-day delivery. Councils now have practical experience of running procurements under the new regime, but interpretation, capability and implementation remain inconsistent across the sector.
Then vs now
Public Contracts Regulations
Procurement Act 2023 + Regulations 2024
From preparation to practice
A year on, the national contracting data confirms the shift is real, not just a change of paperwork. For council procurement teams, the conversation has moved from understanding the legislation to applying it under pressure, often with the same staffing levels and budgets as before, and now with new obligations layered on top. The LGA's March 2026 survey of 434 procurement professionals found many describing the situation as "less resource yet more work."
Why this matters to your team
- Assessment summaries are now required for every unsuccessful bidder, adding rigour and time to award decisions that didn't exist before.
- Choosing between the competitive flexible procedure and the open procedure means judgement calls your team may still be building confidence around.
- Resourcing hasn't kept pace with the extra requirements, with survey respondents describing "less resource yet more work" since the Act landed.
- Contracts that straddle the old and new regimes need careful tracking to avoid applying the wrong rules to the wrong procurement.
Why this matters to your pipeline
- Detailed assessment summaries give unsuccessful bidders far more insight into how they were scored, useful evidence for sharpening future bids.
- The shift towards open tenders and away from direct awards means more competitions are genuinely visible and contestable.
- New below-threshold reservation powers mean some local contracts may now be reserved for local, SME or VCSE suppliers.
- Authorities are interpreting the Act's flexibilities differently, so understanding each buyer's approach matters more than assuming one national standard.
Where this gets discussed in the open
No two authorities are implementing the Procurement Act in quite the same way, and most are still learning from their own early procurements as they go. LGPE 2026 brings council procurement teams together with the suppliers bidding into the new regime, so the practical lessons get compared in the open rather than worked out in isolation.
Want to hear how other councils are turning the Act's flexibilities into practical, confident procurement? Join us at LGPE 2026.
Register to attendFigures reflect national contracting data and sector survey findings published as of summer 2026 and may be revised as further reporting periods complete.