The Procurement Act 2023: What Health and Care Providers Need to Know

November 3, 2025

📜 The Procurement Act 2023: What Health and Care Providers Need to Know

Now live from February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 reshapes how public bodies — including the NHS and local authorities — buy health and care services. For providers, it isn’t an added compliance burden; it’s a clear signal to prepare earlier, evidence more robustly, and align tenders with the new principle of the “Most Advantageous Tender.” This guide explains what has changed, how the process now flows under the live regime, and how bidders can adapt to stay competitive.

If you’re tendering for NHS or local authority contracts, we can help you interpret the new Act’s implications through Bid Proofreading & Compliance Checks. For full writing support, explore Home Care, Learning Disability, or Complex Care tenders.

⚖️ Why the Procurement Act Matters

The Procurement Act 2023 replaces the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR 2015) and takes effect in 2024–2025. It simplifies procurement across central government, local authorities and the NHS, unifying rules under one consistent regime.

For health and care providers, this means clearer processes, more transparency, and new ways to demonstrate value and social outcomes. Commissioners will have more discretion, but also more accountability through publication of notices and evaluation summaries.

🧭 The Core Principles (Old vs New Language)

Under the old rules, the four key principles were transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination and proportionality. The new Act introduces five refreshed objectives:

🔹 Value for money — across the whole contract lifecycle, not just price.
🔹 Public benefit — social value, outcomes and wider impact.
🔹 Transparency — open publication of opportunities, decisions and performance.
🔹 Integrity — ethical conduct and prevention of conflicts.
🔹 Fair treatment of suppliers — competition and proportionality preserved.

In practice, commissioners must now show that decisions contribute to the “public good” — including community, workforce and environmental benefits — not only cost and compliance.

📊 From PCR 2015 to Procurement Act 2023 — Key Differences

Theme	Old (PCR 2015)	New (Procurement Act 2023)
Frameworks & Routes	Four sets of rules (public, utilities, concessions, defence).	One unified regime for all public contracts, with simplified routes.
Procedures	Restricted, competitive dialogue, negotiated procedure.	“Competitive flexible procedure” — buyers choose stages as needed.
Award Criterion	“Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)”	“Most Advantageous Tender (MAT)” — includes social and community outcomes.
Transparency	Limited publication requirements.	Mandatory notices at every stage — planning, award, contract change, performance.
Debriefing	Limited standstill feedback.	Enhanced feedback with evaluation summaries and transparency notices.
Flexibility	Heavily prescribed process.	Commissioners can design bespoke procedures if transparent and fair.
Exclusions	Static mandatory/discretionary lists.	Dynamic “debarment list” and supplier misconduct criteria.
Contract Management	Post-award rules sparse.	Performance, KPI and change notices required on a public platform.

🧮 The New Procurement Flow

The Act defines a clearer lifecycle, visible on the new Central Digital Platform where all opportunities, awards and modifications will be logged. Providers will see more published data — and fewer surprises.

Planning Notice: early signal of intent to procure (replaces PINs).
Tender Notice: launches the competition with published criteria and timelines.
Evaluation & Award Notice: transparent publication of results and summary rationale.
Standstill Period: 8–10 days for clarification or challenge.
Contract Performance Notice: periodic publication of KPIs and performance ratings.
Contract Change Notice: required for variations, extensions or price adjustments.

This means that bidders — and their competitors — will have far more visibility into how awards were made and how contracts are performing. Strong governance and data will therefore matter long after submission.

🧠 What “Most Advantageous Tender” Really Means

Under the new Act, evaluation moves from “most economically advantageous” to “most advantageous.” Commissioners can now weigh broader benefits: social value, carbon reduction, innovation, workforce wellbeing, and community outcomes.

That’s good news for health and care providers who can evidence how service design supports inclusion, learning and sustainable delivery. It also rewards measurable governance — showing you can track what you promise.

🧩 Implications for Providers

For social care and NHS-commissioned services, the Procurement Act will change both the language and tempo of bidding. Expect to see:

Earlier Planning Notices — signalling upcoming frameworks or spot contracts months ahead.
More open-ended flexible procedures — commissioners may combine written and dialogue stages.
Stronger emphasis on social value metrics — including workforce development and local partnerships.
Publication of contract performance data — requiring good audit and reporting systems.

In short: transparency is now the operating system. Providers who document well, evidence learning, and publish performance will stand out naturally under the new regime.

📅 Timelines & Transition

The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent in October 2023 and is expected to go live in late 2024. Until then, the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR 2015) remain in force. Contracts advertised before the switch will continue under old rules until expiry.

Providers should begin aligning tender templates and governance language now — using “most advantageous tender” terminology, referencing value beyond price, and ensuring audit and KPI systems can support transparency reporting.

🧱 Writing Bids Under the New Act

To score under “most advantageous tender,” align your tender answers with the new principles:

✅ Value for Money: Show measurable outcomes per pound — efficiency, continuity, or reduced duplication.
✅ Public Benefit: Link your model to community benefit, employability, or health outcomes.
✅ Transparency: Describe how you publish, review and act on performance data.
✅ Integrity: Evidence governance, conflict management, and ethical sourcing.
✅ Fair Treatment: Demonstrate subcontracting fairness, staff wellbeing, and inclusive recruitment.

Language matters: “We report monthly KPIs on time-to-start and satisfaction, verified at governance” scores higher than “We are fully transparent.”

🧮 Feedback & Challenge Under the New Act

Commissioners must now publish evaluation summaries with clearer reasoning. Providers will be able to see which criteria were decisive, helping to improve future submissions. Formal challenges remain possible, but the Act encourages resolution through transparency rather than litigation.

📘 Case Example — Learning Disability Framework

Old: Evaluation 60% quality / 40% price, feedback limited to headline marks.
New: Evaluation 70% quality / 30% price, with published rationale: “Bidder B scored higher for assurance and workforce stability; KPI evidence supported sustainability.”
Result: Transparency increases learning for all bidders; weak debriefs should become a thing of the past.

💡 How to Prepare Now

Review your governance documents: make sure risk, safeguarding, and incident frameworks reference audit, evidence and learning cycles.
Update your terminology: replace “MEAT” with “MAT” and embed the five principles (value, public benefit, transparency, integrity, fairness).
Strengthen data readiness: ensure KPIs and dashboards can be shared with commissioners for publication.
Embed social value: link workforce development, community outcomes and sustainability directly to service models.
Track upcoming Planning Notices: sign up for Find a Tender updates — opportunities will appear earlier.

🧩 Common Misunderstandings to Avoid

❌ Assuming the Act is only for central government — it covers local authorities and NHS bodies.
❌ Thinking MAT = cheaper = better — commissioners can now weight outcomes and quality higher.
❌ Ignoring transparency — underperformance will be public; governance evidence is now reputational protection.

🧭 Key Takeaways

📜 The Procurement Act 2023 replaces PCR 2015, unifying public procurement rules.
⚖️ “Most Advantageous Tender” rewards measurable quality and social value, not just cost.
🔍 Transparency will define future scoring and feedback — strong governance wins trust.
🧱 Providers who prepare early with Act-aligned templates will be visibly ahead by 2025.

💼 Rapid Support Products (fast turnaround options)

⚡ 48-Hour Tender Triage
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Chat on WhatsApp or email Mike.Harrison@impact-guru.co.uk

Updated for Procurement Act 2023 • CQC-aligned • BASE-aligned (where relevant)