Conflict of interest declaration form under the Procurement Act 2023: how to use the official template

The key facts

• The form identifies actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest for any individual involved in a procurement, so that the procurement stays sound and suppliers are treated fairly.
• Part One is completed by the individual declaring the interest. Part Two is completed by an Authorised Individual who records the agreed mitigations.
• An Individual is any person acting for or on behalf of a contracting authority who influences a procurement decision, including project teams, budget holders, specification writers, tender assessors, consultants, secondees, non-executive board members, special advisers and Ministers.
• An Authorised Individual is any person to whom management of procurement information and conflicts has been delegated, for example a commercial officer, manager or lead.
• Declaration A is signed where there are no conflicts. Declaration B is signed where actual, potential or perceived conflicts exist and must be listed in the table provided.
• The form is a live document that should be routinely updated across the commercial lifecycle: planning, assessment and contract award, contract management, and contract termination or expiry.
• Signatories also accept a confidentiality obligation covering bid documents, supplier evaluations and other procurement data, with unauthorised disclosure treated as a matter for disciplinary action.
• The declaration can be issued in another format, such as an online form or an electronic system, and may be used as good practice for procurements not covered by the Procurement Act 2023.

What the declaration form is and who it applies to

The conflict of interest declaration form is a Government Commercial Function template that a contracting authority issues to every individual involved in a procurement. Its purpose is narrow and practical: to identify conflicts and potential conflicts of interest relating to an individual, so that the integrity of the procurement is protected and suppliers are treated fairly. It sits alongside, and feeds, the wider conflicts assessment that the authority maintains for the procurement as a whole.

The template defines "Individual" very widely. It covers any person acting for or on behalf of a contracting authority or a Minister where that person influences a decision made by or on behalf of the authority in relation to a procurement. The worked examples include the project management team, the senior responsible officer, the budget holder, the commercial director, members of the management board, commercial staff, specification writers, people who will assess tenders, contractors, external experts, private sector secondees and consultants, non-executive board members, special advisers, private office employees and Ministers. In other words, the net is cast far beyond the core procurement team.

"Procurement" is defined equally broadly. It means all stages, including the award and entry into a contract and the management of that contract, taking in any modifications and running up until contract expiry or termination. That framing matters because it means the declaration is not a one off exercise at tender stage. The template states that the form should be considered a live document and routinely updated at key stages of the commercial lifecycle, including planning, assessment and contract award, contract management, and termination or expiry.

Guidance on the Procurement Act 2023 conflicts of interest requirements applies where the procurement is covered by the Act. Where a procurement falls outside the Act, the template notes that the form may still be used as good practice, which makes it a sensible default for below threshold and other non covered activity.

What the individual signs up to in Part One

Part One opens with a set of statements that the individual acknowledges before declaring anything. They accept that their official duties require access to documents or data relating to the procurement and that they may be in a position to influence the process. They accept a duty to disclose details of any conflicts of interest, whether actual, potential or perceived, and accept that they may be required to take steps to mitigate them.

The statements also deal with visibility and disclosure. The individual acknowledges that the details of any conflict, and any mitigation steps, may be recorded in a conflicts assessment and kept under review. Importantly, they acknowledge that the conflicts assessment may be disclosed to a third party if investigations or proceedings are brought against the contracting authority in respect of the procurement. That is a useful reminder that declarations are written for an audience that may one day include a court or an investigator.

A confidentiality undertaking follows. The individual accepts that they will have access to confidential documents or data, that unauthorised disclosure could damage the procurement, and that transmission or revelation of such information to unauthorised persons will subject them to disciplinary action. They agree not to divulge, publish or reveal information by word, conduct or any other means except as necessary in the performance of their official duties related to that procurement, unless they have special authorisation in writing in each and every case from an Authorised Individual.

Finally, the individual commits to ongoing reporting. If at any point during the procurement their participation might result in an actual, potential or perceived conflict, or if their circumstances change in respect of an interest already disclosed, they will immediately report the circumstances to the appropriate Authorised Individual.

Declaration A, Declaration B and the three types of conflict

The template asks the individual to consider any interests relevant to the procurement, and defines an interest as a personal, professional or financial interest which may be direct or indirect. It then separates three categories. An actual conflict of interest exists where there is a conflict of interest now. A potential conflict exists where a conflict will arise in future if certain circumstances occur. A perceived conflict exists where there are circumstances which the contracting authority considers likely to cause a reasonable person to wrongly believe there to be a conflict or potential conflict.

Declaration A is the clean declaration. By signing it, the individual confirms that they have read, understood and accepted the statements, that there are no conflicts of any nature relevant to the procurement, and that they will inform an Authorised Individual immediately if any arise in future.

Declaration B is used where interests exist. The individual confirms they have declared the relevant conflicts in the table provided, that they will carry out any agreed mitigations set out in Part Two in consultation with the Authorised Individual, and that they will report any further conflicts or any change in circumstances immediately. Both declarations are completed with name, signature and date, together with the header fields for unique identifier number, procurement or contract title and reference, contracting authority name, individual name, organisation and team, and the Authorised Individuals.

The template gives non exhaustive examples of what to look for. These include being a current or previous employee of a supplier likely to be interested in the procurement, having a family member, partner, sibling, child or close personal or professional contact employed by such a supplier, and holding, or having a family member or friend who holds, a financial interest in a supplier seeking to do business with the authority. Where an individual is unsure whether a current or previous relationship counts, the guidance is to seek advice from an Authorised Individual rather than to guess.

Part Two: mitigations and the Authorised Individual decision

Part Two is where the authority responds. The Authorised Individual records the interests identified in Part One, the suppliers impacted, and the details of the agreed mitigations, meaning the steps that have been taken or that will be taken. Recording the impacted supplier explicitly is what allows the authority to join a personal declaration up to fair treatment of a named bidder.

The Authorised Individual then makes a binary decision and records it. Either mitigations are sufficient, in which case the individual's role in the procurement is described in the form, or mitigations are not sufficient, in which case the individual will not have a role in the procurement at all. The template requires the role to be stated where appropriate, so that the boundary of the individual's involvement is written down rather than assumed.

The Authorised Individual signs Part Two with name, job title, signature, organisation and team, and date, confirming that the interests identified in Part One have been or will be mitigated and that the steps taken or to be taken are detailed in the form. That countersignature is what turns a personal disclosure into a documented authority decision.

The template also carries practical housekeeping instructions. The instructional text at the top is deleted before issue, the departmental logo replaces the Government Commercial Function logo, a security classification is added if appropriate, and the form may be issued in a different format such as an online form or another electronic system. A disclaimer notes that commercial and legal advice should still be sought in the context of specific procurements.

How to use the form well

The most common failure with declaration forms is treating them as a signature collection exercise at tender stage. The template is explicit that this is a live document to be updated at planning, assessment and award, contract management and contract expiry or termination. Build the refresh points into the procurement plan rather than relying on individuals to remember their ongoing duty to report changes.

The second common failure is scoping the distribution list too tightly. Because the definition of Individual reaches specification writers, external experts, secondees, consultants, non executive board members and Ministers, a distribution list that stops at the core commercial team will miss the people whose involvement is most likely to attract challenge. Build the list from the decision points in the procurement, not from the organisation chart.

The third is under recording perceived conflicts. Because a perceived conflict is defined by what a reasonable person might wrongly believe, individuals often decide the answer for themselves and declare nothing. The template's answer is that circumstances which may give rise to a perceived conflict should be discussed with an Authorised Individual, and that individuals must also comply with internal policy on gifts, hospitality and conflicts at all times. A short conversation recorded in Part Two is far cheaper than an unrecorded judgement that has to be defended later.

How eSourcing Data helps

The declaration form is only as strong as the record behind it. eSourcing Data keeps declarations attached to the procurement they belong to, so the unique identifier, procurement title and reference, individual, organisation and Authorised Individual are captured once and stay linked to the tender rather than sitting in a shared drive. Because the template expressly allows issue through an online form or another electronic system, running declarations digitally is fully consistent with the guidance.

The parts of the form that matter most under challenge are the ones that are easiest to lose: when a declaration was made, when it was refreshed, which supplier was affected, what mitigation was agreed and who signed it off. eSourcing Data timestamps those events and holds them in the same audit trail as the tender documents, evaluation records and award decision, which is the evidence set an authority needs if the conflicts assessment is ever disclosed to a third party in investigations or proceedings.

Because the form is meant to be refreshed across the commercial lifecycle, eSourcing Data can carry declarations through from planning into evaluation and on into contract management, prompting review at the stages the template names rather than leaving refresh to memory. Where the Authorised Individual has restricted an individual's role, keeping that decision next to the evaluation record makes the restriction visible to the people running the panel, not just to the person who signed the form.

What to do about it

1. 1Build the declaration distribution list from every decision point in the procurement, including specification writers, evaluators, external experts, secondees, consultants and senior decision makers, not just the core commercial team.
2. 2Name the Authorised Individuals for the procurement before issuing the form, and make sure they know they are responsible for agreeing mitigations and signing Part Two.
3. 3Customise the template before issue: remove the instructional text, apply your own logo, add a security classification if appropriate, and decide whether to issue on paper or through an electronic form.
4. 4Brief individuals on the difference between actual, potential and perceived conflicts, and give them the worked examples on employment, family relationships and financial interests so they know what to look for.
5. 5Where Declaration B is used, record the impacted supplier and the specific mitigation in Part Two, and state plainly whether the individual retains a role and what that role is.
6. 6Set refresh points at planning, assessment and award, contract management and contract expiry or termination, and re-issue or revisit the form at each one.
7. 7Feed every completed declaration into the procurement's conflicts assessment and store both securely, on the basis that they may need to be disclosed if proceedings are brought.