If you bid for UK public sector contracts, this is not a market to watch casually anymore. There have been legal changes, policy changes, platform changes and wider commercial reforms, all of which affect how buyers procure and how suppliers need to prepare. The biggest shift is still the Procurement Act 2023, but it sits alongside NHS-specific reform, updated social value and carbon rules, SME spend targets, the move from CCS to GCA, and a stronger focus on transparency, value for money and supplier readiness.
For SMEs, the opportunity is real, but so is the need to stay organised. Better policy support for smaller suppliers does not remove the need for strong bids, clear compliance, the right framework strategy and regular monitoring of what buyers are actually doing. That is where businesses often need practical help, not just policy summaries.
If you need support with bid quality, route to market planning or framework positioning, our bid writing services and frameworks for growth support are built around exactly that challenge.
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The main recent procurement changes suppliers should be tracking
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Change |
What it is |
Why it matters to suppliers |
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Procurement Act 2023 now live |
The new procurement regime went live on 24 February 2025. It replaced the old rules for most covered procurements and introduced new notices, new terminology, new procedures and a stronger transparency model. |
Suppliers need to understand the new language, new processes and new disclosure requirements. This is not just a legal update, it changes how opportunities are structured and found. |
|
National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) |
The current NPPS came into force on 24 February 2025 and sets strategic priorities that contracting authorities must have regard to when carrying out procurement functions. |
It influences what buyers are trying to achieve through procurement, including growth, innovation, social value and SME engagement. |
|
SME and VCSE spend targets |
PPN 001, published in February 2025, requires in-scope central government bodies to set three-year direct SME spend targets from 1 April 2025 and publish progress annually. It also introduces VCSE target requirements from 1 April 2026. |
This is one of the clearest policy signals that departments are under pressure to improve direct SME access. |
|
Updated social value model |
PPN 002 updated the central government social value model in February 2025. Use became mandatory from 1 October 2025 for in-scope central government procurements. |
Suppliers need to refresh how they answer social value questions. Older wording and generic claims are more likely to underperform. |
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Carbon Reduction Plans |
PPN 006, published in February 2025, sets out how Carbon Reduction Plans should be taken into account in major central government procurements. |
For many suppliers, especially on larger frameworks and central government opportunities, carbon compliance is now a routine bid requirement. |
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More transparency and a stronger central digital platform |
The new regime introduced wider publication requirements, and Find a Tender now operates as the central digital platform for regulated notices and supplier registration. |
Suppliers need to track notices more carefully, keep registrations current and expect more information to be published across the procurement lifecycle. |
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New procedures, including the competitive flexible procedure |
The Act simplified the main competitive procedures to the open procedure and the competitive flexible procedure. |
Buyers now have more scope to design competitions differently. Suppliers should expect more variety in procurement structure and evaluation. |
|
Dynamic markets and open frameworks |
The Act introduced dynamic markets and open frameworks as part of the new commercial toolkit. |
Some opportunities will no longer follow the old pattern of closed entry points and long waits for the next framework round. |
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Pipeline notices for bigger future procurements |
Authorities with expected spend above the threshold must publish pipeline notices, giving earlier visibility of planned procurements above £2 million. |
This improves forward planning for suppliers, especially SMEs that want more time to prepare partnerships, compliance and positioning. |
|
NHS Provider Selection Regime (PSR) |
The PSR came into force on 1 January 2024 for healthcare services in England. It created a separate decision-making regime for relevant NHS bodies and some local authorities. |
If you supply healthcare services, the route to market may be very different from a standard public procurement process. |
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NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment |
NHS England says Evergreen is the tool suppliers use to share sustainability information and understand maturity against NHS priorities. NHS Supply Chain has said Evergreen Level 1 will be required for its tenders from April 2026. |
NHS suppliers need to treat sustainability readiness as part of bid readiness. |
|
CCS becoming Government Commercial Agency (GCA) |
Government Commercial Agency will come into operation on 1 April 2026, bringing together CCS and several Cabinet Office central commercial teams. |
This is not a full restart for suppliers, but it is a real structural and communications change. |
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What this means in practice
The headline is that procurement in the UK public sector is becoming more transparent, more policy-led and, in some areas, more flexible. Buyers are being pushed to think more strategically about growth, SME participation, sustainability and delivery outcomes.
For many SMEs, the gap is not awareness. It is implementation. They know the Procurement Act exists, they know social value matters, and they know buyers want more from SMEs. But they still need to turn that into stronger tender responses, clearer framework choices, better evidence and more practical bid planning.
Our guide to public sector procurement frameworks helps with that wider route-to-market picture.
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Speak to the teamNot new, but still important guiding policies and frameworks
|
Policy or guidance |
Why it still matters |
Relevance for SME bidders |
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HM Treasury Green Book |
The Green Book is not a procurement procedure, but it remains the core government guidance for appraisal, value for money and business cases. HM Treasury published its Green Book Review 2025 in June 2025 and said an updated Green Book is due in early 2026. |
It shapes what gets approved and funded before procurement even starts. That makes it highly relevant to suppliers positioning around outcomes, value and strategic fit. |
|
Sourcing Playbook |
The Sourcing Playbook remains core best-practice guidance for insourcing, outsourcing and delivery model decisions. |
It influences how public bodies structure service procurements and think about risk, pricing, market engagement and delivery models. |
|
Construction Playbook |
The Construction Playbook is still key guidance for how public works projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered. |
Construction suppliers should still align with its expectations on early engagement, risk allocation, pipelines and delivery planning. |
|
Consultancy Playbook |
The Consultancy Playbook provides guidance on commissioning and engaging consultants effectively to achieve better outcomes and value for money. |
If you sell consultancy or advisory services into government, this is highly relevant to how buyers frame scope, capability and value. |
|
Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Playbook |
The DDaT Playbook sets guidance on sourcing and contracting for digital, data and technology projects and programmes. |
Tech suppliers should expect buyers to focus more on user need, cybersecurity, agile delivery, innovation and avoiding poor legacy outcomes. |
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Commercial Playbooks under PPN 011 |
PPN 011 confirms the commercial playbook approach and says there are currently four playbooks: Sourcing, Consultancy, Construction and DDaT. |
These are not niche documents. They signal how in-scope central government buyers are expected to think and behave. |
|
NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap |
NHS England’s roadmap sets out staged sustainability expectations for suppliers, and links closely to Evergreen and net zero requirements in NHS procurement. |
NHS suppliers should treat this as a live commercial issue, not a background sustainability document. |
Useful Thornton & Lowe resources
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How Thornton & Lowe can help
The strongest theme across all of this is not just reform. It is direction of travel. Government procurement is moving towards clearer policy priorities, stronger transparency, more emphasis on delivery and outcomes, and more pressure on buyers to engage SMEs properly. At the same time, sector-specific routes like the NHS PSR and NHS sustainability requirements mean suppliers cannot rely on one generic public sector approach anymore.
That is why practical supplier support matters. It is one thing to know the rules have changed. It is another to decide which frameworks to target, how to improve social value and carbon answers, how to respond to NHS-specific requirements, and how to adapt your bid content to what buyers now expect.
At Thornton & Lowe, we support clients as a practical partner in public sector procurement and work winning. That may mean improving live bids, strengthening framework strategy, building route-to-market plans, reviewing supplier messaging, or helping your team stay ahead of changes that affect where and how you bid.
If you want support with upcoming opportunities, framework planning or strengthening your bid approach, explore our framework sales and business growth guide, view more feedback on our testimonials page, or simply get in touch for a conversation about your next steps.
