Procurement Act Series 1 — Article 1 of 4

VCSE Commissioning Analytics Series — Article 11 of 18 | Procurement Act Series 1 — Article 1 of 4

What the Procurement Act 2023 Is and Why VCSEs Need to Understand It Now | Procurement Act Series 1 — Article 1 of 4

The Procurement Act 2023 is the most significant reform to public procurement law in England in a generation. It came into force in February 2025, with a further tranche of transparency provisions activated in April 2026. Any VCSE holding a publicly funded contract — whether from a central government body, a local authority, a combined authority, or an NHS organisation — is subject to its provisions. And for VCSEs that have not yet fully engaged with what those provisions mean in practice, the window for preparation is closing.

The Act creates a simpler, more transparent procurement system designed to make public contracts more accessible to smaller organisations including VCSEs. It introduces a duty on contracting authorities to remove unnecessary obstacles that prevent smaller organisations from bidding; mandatory 30-day payment terms across public sector supply chains; and government spending targets for VCSE suppliers from April 2026, with central government departments required to set two-year targets for direct spend with VCSEs and report results annually.

But the Act also creates new accountability obligations that VCSEs need to take seriously. Social value commitments made at bid stage are now tracked and published. Contract performance against KPIs is publicly visible. Underperformance can trigger formal consequences. The era of social value as a bidding exercise that ends at contract award is over.

What the April 2026 Changes Specifically Introduced

The April 2026 tranche of Procurement Act provisions introduced three specific changes that directly affect VCSEs holding public contracts.

First, mandatory quarterly payment reporting. Contracting authorities must now publish details of every payment over £30,000 made under public contracts on the Central Digital Platform, with the first reports due by 29 July 2026. For VCSEs, this means their payment relationship with public bodies is now publicly visible — both demonstrating prompt payment compliance and making contract value transparent to the market.

Second, below-threshold supplier registration. VCSEs awarded contracts below the standard procurement thresholds must register on the Central Digital Platform and obtain a unique identifier. This is significant because it means VCSE participation in public procurement will be measurable and reportable for the first time — directly supporting the government commitment to increase spending with VCSEs. According to analysis from the procurement intelligence platform Tussell, over 8,000 live contracts worth £5 million or more are now subject to the full suite of Procurement Act rules, with new eligible contracts being awarded daily.

Third, Contracts Finder replaced. The Central Digital Platform becomes the primary publication service for procurement notices from April 2026, replacing Contracts Finder. VCSEs looking for new contracting opportunities need to register on and monitor the CDP rather than the previous Contracts Finder portal.

Social Value Under the Procurement Act: From Bid to Contract

The most consequential change for VCSEs delivering public contracts is the shift in social value accountability. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 required commissioners to consider social value before procurement. PPN 002, updated in February 2025, requires central government bodies to include social value in tender evaluations with a minimum 10 percent weighting. The Procurement Act 2023 goes further — it makes social value commitments contractual, performance-managed, and publicly reported.

In practice, this means a VCSE that commits to creating ten apprenticeships, generating 500 volunteering hours, and reducing carbon footprint by 15 percent as part of its bid social value delivery plan has made contractual commitments. Those commitments become KPIs. Performance against those KPIs is published. Failure to deliver creates a public record. The social value analytics infrastructure to track and evidence social value delivery throughout the contract lifecycle is no longer optional — it is a contractual necessity.

The Opportunity Side of the Procurement Act for VCSEs

It would be a mistake to read the Procurement Act 2023 as purely a compliance burden. For VCSEs that invest in the data infrastructure to demonstrate delivery, the Act creates a structural advantage that was not available under the previous regime.

A VCSE that can show a track record of KPI delivery, published social value output, and prompt service performance on the Central Digital Platform has a verifiable public evidence base for future commissioning bids. Commissioners evaluating bids under the Most Advantageous Tender framework — which replaced lowest-price evaluation — can point to CDP performance records as evidence of delivery capability. VCSEs with strong records will benefit from this transparency. Those without data infrastructure to generate that record will be invisible or, worse, will have underperformance records that affect future bid eligibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Procurement Act 2023 and when did it come into force?

The Procurement Act 2023 reforms public procurement law in England. It came into force in February 2025, with additional transparency provisions activated in April 2026 including mandatory quarterly payment reporting, below-threshold supplier registration on the Central Digital Platform, and replacement of Contracts Finder with the CDP.

Does the Procurement Act 2023 apply to VCSEs?

Yes. Any VCSE holding a publicly funded contract awarded under the Procurement Act 2023 is subject to its provisions — including social value KPI reporting, performance notice obligations, and CDP registration. The Act also creates new opportunities through below-threshold registration and government VCSE spending targets.

What is the Central Digital Platform and what does it mean for VCSEs?

The Central Digital Platform replaces Contracts Finder from April 2026 as the central procurement database. VCSEs awarded contracts above threshold must be registered on it. Contracting authorities publish payment details quarterly for contracts over £30,000, and supplier KPI performance is publicly visible.

What is a Contract Performance Notice?

A Contract Performance Notice is a formal public record published on the CDP when a supplier fails to meet contract KPIs. Published poor performance is a discretionary ground for exclusion from future procurements and can be referred to the Procurement Review Unit for potential debarment.

How does the Procurement Act 2023 create opportunities for VCSEs?

The Act introduces a duty to remove bidding obstacles for smaller organisations, mandatory 30-day payment terms, and government VCSE spending targets from April 2026. Below-threshold CDP registration makes VCSE participation in public procurement visible and measurable for the first time.

To discuss how Quematics can build Procurement Act-compliant reporting and VCSE commissioning analytics infrastructure for your VCSE, visit our data analytics for charities page or contact us for a free 30-minute data review.