Procurement Guidelines under UK jurisdiction as of July 2025
Boosting British Industry: UK Government Proposes Public Procurement Reforms
The UK government has unveiled a series of reforms aimed at strengthening supply chains, empowering British businesses, and fostering local economic benefits. The proposed changes, outlined in a consultation paper published on July 23, 2025, are designed to enhance economic resilience, support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and ensure procurement aligns with national priorities and social outcomes.
Supporting SMEs and Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs)
Large contracting authorities with an annual procurement spend over £100 million will be required to publish three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs and VCSEs, and report annually on progress. Suppliers must demonstrate prompt payment of invoices to be eligible for contracts above £5 million.
Introducing Social Value Criteria in Major Procurements
For contracts over £5 million, contracting authorities must set at least one award criterion related to the supplier’s contribution to jobs, opportunities, or skills. A minimum weighting of 10% must be applied to social value criteria. Authorities would use standard social value metrics and criteria developed collaboratively with the public sector and suppliers. Contracts over £5 million would also require the publication of at least one social value Key Performance Indicator (KPI) related to jobs and skills.
Supporting National Economic Security
Ministers could designate certain goods, services, or works as critical to the UK’s national economic security. Contracting authorities would then be directed to consider the critical nature of such services in procurement, potentially excluding these from the usual procurement regulations.
Assessment of Service Delivery Method
Before procuring major contracts over £5 million, authorities must perform a standard assessment to decide whether a service should be delivered in-house or outsourced.
Other Key Proposals
- The Procurement Act 2023 introduces a new mandatory exclusion ground from UK public bids for deliberate tax penalties.
- Contracting authorities will be required to exclude suppliers from bidding on major contracts if they cannot demonstrate prompt payment of invoices to their supply chains.
- The MOD will review supplier profit restrictions with the intent to encourage greater risk sharing from the private sector and incentivize private sector investment in UK productivity.
- The MOD will implement recommendations for a new segmented approach to procurement, including contracting within two years for major modular platforms, within a year for pace-setting spiral and modular upgrades, and within three months for rapid commercial exploitation.
The consultation period for these reforms runs from June 26 to September 5, 2025, after which legislation is expected to be enacted to implement these changes. The UK government is also consulting on further reforms, focusing on supporting small businesses, national capability, and local jobs and skills.
As part of these efforts, our firm has developed an Exclusion and Debarment Health Checker to help suppliers understand what conduct is (and is not) caught by the exclusion grounds. The aim of these reforms is to ensure that the UK is globally competitive and ensures innovation, jobs, and prosperity across the UK by reforming procurement and contracting processes.
References: [1] [Government website link] [3] [Government website link] [5] [Government website link]
- The UK government's public procurement reforms include a focus on intellectual property, as large contracting authorities will be encouraged to share and protect intellectual property created during contract performance, thereby fostering business innovation.
- In the realm of finance, these reforms propose the introduction of a requirement for suppliers of contracts above £5 million to demonstrate prompt payment of invoices to their supply chains, enhancing financial stability for businesses within the UK's supply chains.
