The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025. For local authorities, the changes are substantial — new notice types, new procedures, new transparency obligations and new social value requirements that apply to every above-threshold procurement.
This checklist is for procurement managers who need a clear, actionable summary of what is required at each stage.
Planning and pipeline
- Pipeline Notice published — required for all contracts expected to exceed £2 million. Published on Find a Tender at the start of each financial year.
- Internal approval obtained — procurement route, evaluation criteria and budget confirmed before tender is issued. PA23 requires evaluation criteria fixed before submissions open.
- Social value approach defined — weighting, measurement methodology and post-award tracking approach confirmed before issuing the Tender Notice.
Tender publication
- Tender Notice published on Find a Tender — mandatory for all above-threshold procurements.
- Contracts Finder publication — required for contracts above £12,000 in England.
- Selection and award criteria fixed and published — cannot be changed once the notice is published.
- Conflict of interest declarations completed — all evaluators must declare interests before accessing submissions.
Evaluation
- Independent panel scoring — each evaluator scores independently. Scores and rationale documented for every criterion, every supplier.
- Divergence review — significant score divergence between panel members must be discussed and resolved before moderation. Document the outcome.
- Evaluation report prepared — formal report documenting all scores, rationale and the award recommendation before the award decision is made.
Award and standstill
- All suppliers notified simultaneously — award decision communicated to all tenderers at the same time. Staggered notifications are non-compliant.
- Standstill period — 8 working days — contract cannot be executed until 8 clear working days have elapsed.
- Debrief letters prepared — must include scores achieved in each evaluation criterion.
- Award Notice published within 30 days — mandatory publication on Find a Tender.
Post-award and contract management
- Social value commitments captured at award — all commitments formally recorded in the contract record at the point of award.
- Contract register updated — contract added with all required fields completed.
- Social value delivery tracked quarterly — suppliers report against commitments. Authority monitors and records delivery.
- Contract Change Notices published — any material modification requires a notice on Find a Tender.
- Document retention — 7 years — all procurement records retained and accessible for audit.
HostAContract automates all of this
Every item on this checklist is built into the HostAContract workflow. Notices are generated and published automatically. Conflict of interest declarations are captured before submissions open. Evaluation reports are generated in real time. Standstill is managed with automatic timing and simultaneous supplier notification. Social value is tracked from award through delivery. The free 90-day pilot is available with no commitment.