Procurement in a Nutshell – Procurement Act 2023: Schools
3rd June, 2024
This Nutshell will analyse the key exemptions or differences to the main provisions of the Procurement Act for public contracts awarded by schools.
On 26th October 2023 the Procurement Bill received Royal Assent and is now expected to come into force on 28th October 2024.
The Act will, in particular, revoke the following:
- Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR)
- Concession Contracts Regulations 2016
- Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016
Background
Section 123 defines a school as:
- The governing body of a maintained school;
- The proprietor, within the meaning given by section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996, of an Academy;
- The proprietor, within the meaning given by section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996, of a school that has been approved under section 342 of that Act;
- The governing body, within the meaning given by section 90 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, of an institution within the further education sector within the meaning given by section 91 of that Act.
What’s different?
The following provisions do not apply to public contracts award by a school:
Section 68
Any sum due to be paid under the public contract by the contracting authority must be paid before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with-
- The day on which an invoice is received by the contracting authority in respect of the sum, or
- If later, the day on which the payment falls due in accordance with the invoice.
Section 69
Before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the last day of a reporting period, a contracting authority must publish a Payments Compliance Notice if during that period-
- The authority made a payment under a public contract;
- A sum owed by the authority under a public contract became payable.
Section 70
A contracting authority must publish specified information about any payment of more than £30,000 made by the authority under a public contract.
Section 84
The provisions relating to related below-threshold contracts do not apply to a procurement by a school.
What does this mean?
The Act alleviates the administrative burden in relation to the publication requirements necessary for payments under a public contract for schools and also provides schools with greater flexibility in terms of when invoices must be paid. This will be advantageous for schools during the transitional period from the PCR to the Procurement Act, allowing schools to focus their efforts on the new legislative requirements under the Act such as the transparency obligations. For a detailed analysis of the key changes introduced by the Act, please see our Nutshell series.
For further information please contact Melanie Pears or Tim Care in our Public Sector Team
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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