On 9 December 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No 4) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1316) were made. These Regulations concern sections 69 to 71 of the Procurement Act ("the Act") and stipulate when these sections of the Act come into force.
1 January 2026
Section 69: Payments compliance notice. A "payments compliance notice" is a notice that sets out a contracting authority's compliance with section 68(2) of the Act. Section 68(2) requires a contracting authority to pay valid and undisputed supplier invoices within 30 days (unless the contract is a concession or the contracting authority is a school as these provisions do not apply). Other than in respect of a procurement regulated by the Welsh Ministers (where a 1 April 2026 commencement date applies) the obligation to publish these notices comes into effect from 1 January 2026.
Section 71: Assessment of contract performance: Other than in respect of a procurement regulated by the Welsh Ministers (where a 1 April 2026 commencement date applies), from 1 January 2026, Section 71 will come into force. Under Section 71, contracting authorities must publish, at least once every 12 months during a contract's term, and on its termination, assessment against the contract's key performance indicators and other specified information. It should be noted that Section 71 does not apply to light touch contracts. A template Contract Performance Notice is yet to be published. Its content will be key when considering how to approach reporting against KPIs.
1 April 2026
Section 70: Information about payments under public contract: The Regulations state that Section 70 of the Act will come into force on 1 April 2026 (unless the contract is regulated by the Welsh Ministers - in which case there is no commencement date indicated). Under Section 70, a contracting authority must publish "specified information" about any payment of more than £30,000 made under a public contract. Regulations will be made which will set out this "specified information".
Why is this important?
Procurement under the Act includes the whole life of a public contract, from planning the procurement through to expiry or termination of the contract. Procurement professionals and contract managers need to be aware that procurement now, by law, includes continuous monitoring and transparency of that monitoring. Section 71 in particular is of key importance to both contracting authorities and suppliers. Section 71 alerts the world to a supplier's performance under a public contract and poor performance could ultimately result in the discretionary ground for breach of contract and poor performance applying.
How can we help?
At DAC Beachcroft we have a team of expert procurement lawyers who can provide advice on all aspects of public procurement, including ensuring contracts comply with the ongoing contract management provisions. Our "Procurement Act 2023 Handbook", written to explain the Act in a user friendly way, includes several chapters on how to comply with the Manage stage the Act. Please contact us if you would like more information.
