The Government has confirmed that commencement of the Procurement Act will be delayed from 28th October 2024 until 24th February 2025 in order to produce a new National Procurement Policy Statement reflecting more clearly the new Government’s priorities for public procurement, including delivering value for money, economic growth and social value.

This “short delay,” says Georgia Gould, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, “will allow for a more seamless transition, ensuring a smoother and more effective implementation process for both contracting authorities and suppliers.”

In addition, the Department for Business and Trade has announced a package of new measures to address late payment. This includes:

• Introducing secondary legislation to make it a requirement for large companies to include their headline payment data in their annual reports;
• Launching a new Fair Payment Code overseen by the Small Business Commissioner; and
• Launching a public consultation on further measures in the coming months.

Further information can be found here.

Updated guidance on the statutory reporting duty for payment practices and performance for large companies has also been published. This update incorporates amendments brought forward by the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I.2024/444).