Procurement reform – an update

August 26, 2026

Local Government Reorganisation and rethinking corporate structures

Is now the time to rethink your corporate structures? Peter Collins looks at the benefit for local authorities undergoing local government reorganisation in reviewing their arrangements. Local Government Reorganisation is often viewed as a process of transition. It can also be…

August 25, 2026

Local Government Reorganisation and the shareholder role

In the fourth instalment in his five-part series, Peter Collins looks at who will hold the shareholder role after vesting day. One question often receives less attention than it deserves during Local Government Reorganisation. Once the new authority comes into existence, who…

August 25, 2026

Local Government Reorganisation and liabilities

Peter Collins sets out the liabilities councils going through reorgansiation cannot afford to overlook. Corporate structures can sometimes create the impression that assets, contracts and liabilities sit at arm's length from the council itself. In reality, understanding exactly…

August 21, 2026

Reforms to the NSIP Regime (and Beyond…)

James Goldthorpe, Emyr Thomas and Alastair Lewis set out where the government’s Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (“NSIPs”) reforms have reached, the implications of the changes made to date and how the latest consultation “beyond NSIPS” could allow the government…

DECEMBER 2020 Green Paper published and consultation commenced	Cabinet Office issued consultation on the Green Paper: Transforming Public Procurement. Seeking to legislate for a more flexible and less bureaucratic procurement regime in light of Brexit and the UK no longer being tied to EU law.
MARCH 2021 Green Paper consultation deadline	Green paper consultation closed on 10 March 2021. Subject to widespread comment and the Cabinet Office will consider responses before preparing the Procurement Bill.
MAY 2021 Queen’s Speech	Procurement Bill announced. Main aim is to reform government procurement in the UK and create a single Act to cover all existing procurement legislation.
3 JUNE 2021 PPN 05/21 issued	National Procurement Policy Statement issued. Sets out the requirements for all contracting authorities to have regard to national strategic priorities for public procurement.
11 JUNE 2021 GPA amendments to PCR 2015	Public Procurement (Agreement on Government Procurement) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 came into force. Amends PCR 2015 to include the UK’s membership of the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), created by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
2 JULY 2021 International trade amendments to PCR 2015	Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 came into force. Amends PCR 2015 to require contracting authorities to treat suppliers from countries where a trade deal is in place no less favourably than UK-based suppliers.
EXPECTED SEPTEMBER 2021 Cabinet Office issue Procurement Bill	Provided there are no new considerations raised as part of the consultation, the government has indicated that the Procurement Bill will be issued in September 2021. Draft Bill will confirm the proposed changes to the procurement regime and the responses to the consultation.
EXPECTED LATE 2021/ EARLY 2022 Parliament consideration of Procurement Bill	The Procurement Bill will be placed before Parliament. It will be subject to discussion before gaining Royal Assent and becoming enshrined in law.
EXPECTED 2022 Enactment of the Procurement Bill	Commentators anticipate that the UK will have a new procurement regime coming into force in 2022. Until then, application of PCR 2015, CCR 2016 and UCR 2016 continue and it is “business as usual” for the public sector.