On 26 October 2023, the government laid the Public Procurement (Agreement on Government Procurement) (Thresholds) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (Regulations) before Parliament. The Regulations will come into force on 1 January 2024 and will only apply to procurements commenced after the regulations come into force.
Impact
The regulations update certain financial thresholds in the following:
- Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102)
- Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/273)
- Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/274).
We have set out each of the changes in detail below. Note that no changes to the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1848) have been included in the amendments and therefore the current thresholds for that regime will continue to apply.
Public Contracts Regulations 2015
|
Type of contracting authority |
Subject of contract |
Current threshold (inclusive of VAT) |
Threshold from 1 January 2024 (inclusive of VAT) |
|
Central Government Authorities |
Services / Goods |
£138,760 |
£139,688 |
|
Sub-Central Contracting Authorities |
Services / Goods |
£213,447 |
£214,904 |
|
All |
Works |
£5,336,937 |
£5,372,609 |
|
All |
Schedule 3 services (social and other specific services) |
£663,540 |
£663,540 (unchanged) |
Concession Contracts Regulations 2016
|
Subject of contract |
Current threshold (inclusive of VAT) |
Threshold from 1 January 2024 (inclusive of VAT) |
|
Concession |
£5,336,937 |
£5,372,609 |
Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016
|
Subject of contract |
Current threshold (inclusive of VAT) |
Threshold from 1 January 2024 |
|
Services / Goods |
£426,955 |
£429,809 |
|
Schedule 2 services (social and other specific services) |
£884,720 |
£884,720 (unchanged) |
|
Works |
£5,336,937 |
£5,372,609 |
Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulation 2011 – unchanged
|
Subject of contract |
Current threshold (inclusive of VAT) |
Threshold from 1 January 2024 (inclusive of VAT) |
|
Services / Goods |
£426,955 |
£426,955 (unchanged) |
|
Works |
£5,336,937 |
£5,336,937 (unchanged) |
Procurement Act
The Procurement Act received royal assent on 26 October and is expected to come into force in October 2024 following the enactment of the secondary legislation.
The current regulations (Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 and Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) are expected to continue to apply up until "go live" of the Procurement Act 2023.
We will provide updates on the final content of the Procurement Act in due course as well following the progress of the secondary legislation which will be key to understanding certain aspects of the Act.
If you require assistance in respect of the thresholds or procurement law generally, our specialist team is available to help.
