The Procurement Pathway does not constitute legal, commercial or other professional advice. The Cabinet Office acting as part of the Crown is not liable for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising from the use of the Procurement Pathway and its associated documents. Contracting authorities should always seek their own independent legal advice where appropriate.
Contents
Introduction
The Procurement Pathway is based on the presumption that the procuring entity is a public sector contracting authority within the meaning of UK procurement legislation and is situated in England or Wales.
All content relating to Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs), commercial playbooks, standard commercial templates (collectively referred to as “documents”) and Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and, Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) (collectively referred to as “procurement legislation”), has been aligned (or ‘mapped’) to appropriate commercial stages across the end-to-end lifecycle.
The mapping approach is for general information purposes only. It is not based on any particular procurement procedure and / or commercial situation. It does not represent legal interpretation nor is it a statement of Cabinet Office policy.
Contracting authorities should consider procurement legislation and the documents in the round throughout the entirety of a procurement process and in the management of any subsequent contract.
The commercial stages across the end-to-end lifecycle do not necessarily need to be considered consecutively, other than where legislation requires it to be considered in a particular order. To that end, it may be appropriate and relevant to consider certain commercial stages earlier or later for a particular procurement procedure and / or commercial situation.
Note: The tool identifies regulations in the PCR and / or sections in the PA23 which are relevant to each other, and also relevant to particular policy documents such as PPNs (e.g. indicated by “see also in the PA23”). Where a regulation and / or section has been identified as relevant, this is because some or all aspects are broadly comparable, rather than constituting a direct equivalent provision. Where provisions are identified as relevant to each other, these should not be treated as an exhaustive list and must also be considered further in the context of the particular stage in the commercial lifecycle.
Contracting authorities should always seek legal, commercial and other professional advice in the context of specific procurements, as each commercial activity will have its own unique characteristics and nuances.
Procurement Pathway signposts to other websites which enable you to go directly to the linked site. The Cabinet Office is not responsible for the contents of any webpages referenced by an external link.
What this tool is
The Procurement Pathway brings together the ‘documents’ (see definition under ‘Introduction’), published on GOV.UK, for which the Cabinet Office Government Commercial Function (GCF) is responsible. This means you can access relevant commercial / procurement documents in one place.
The tool also brings together the ‘procurement legislation’ (see definition under ‘introduction’), published on legislation.gov.uk, which is delivered by the National Archives.
By ‘mapping’ these documents, and specific provisions from procurement legislation, to relevant stages across the end-to-end commercial lifecycle (Plan, Define, Procure and Manage), this should provide greater insight into the issues that may need to be considered and / or acknowledged as part of your decision-making.
However, there will be situations where it will be necessary to acknowledge and consider a broader range of issues given the nuances and complexities of the procurement procedure. It remains your responsibility to ensure that appropriate advice is taken and that the Procurement Pathway is applied only where relevant and appropriate to do so.
The mapping approach does not follow a specific formula. Instead, it identifies a likely commercial stage that a document, or specific provision in procurement legislation, may need to be considered and / or acknowledged according to best practice (or leading practice) approaches; as outlined in the Source to Contract Global Design Principles 2021 or 'GDP' (Define and Procure) and Sourcing Playbook / Government Functional Standard - GovS 008: Commercial (Plan and Manage).
Note: The GDP is being updated; including the detailed points of guidance / best practice (or leading practice) features relating to each process area (e.g. business need). Whilst the tool provides a high-level overview of the typical ‘activities’ that may need to be considered at each commercial stage, this should not be treated as exhaustive. ‘Activities’ have been informed by the GDP and / or Sourcing Playbook and / or Government Functional Standard. You should refer to these for detailed points of guidance / leading practice features.
What the tool is not
This tool is not a substitute for technical, legal, financial and other professional advice. This tool should not be used in isolation and must be read alongside appropriate procurement legislation and policy.
The content relating to particular commercial stages must be read alongside appropriate procurement legislation, policy and guidance notes. The content in the tool provides a high-level overview and is not based on a specific procurement and / or commercial situation.
When using the Procurement Pathway, you must comply with applicable procurement legislation and policy; including your organisation’s own guidance, policy, process and commercial / procurement toolkits.
Contracting authorities remain responsible for:
- complying with their legal obligations
- seeking legal advice in the context of specific procurements
- confirming the scope and application of PPNs in the context of specific procurements
- planning and risk management throughout the end-to-end commercial process, and
- keeping records that are required by procurement legislation, including your organisation’s own policies and procedures
What is not included
The tool does not cover procurements, or contracts awarded via, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (CCRs), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (UCRs), the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, or the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DCSPCRs). This includes comparable sections in the PCR and PA23 which deal with these legal frameworks.
The following provisions in the PCR are also out of scope and are not included within this tool:
- Regulation 1: Citation, commencement, extent and application
- Regulation 2: Definitions
- Regulation 5A: Review and amendment of certain thresholds
- Regulation 22A: Powers to amend regulation 22
- Regulation 39: Procurement involving contracting authorities from other member States
- Regulation 61: Recourse to e-Certis
- Regulation 64: Recognition of official lists of approved economic operators and certification by certification bodies
- Part 3, Chapter 6: Applications to the Court (Regulations 88 – 104)
- Regulation 105: Scope of Chapter 7
The following provisions in the PA23 are also out of scope and not included within this tool:
- Section 2: Contracting authorities
- Section 40: Qualifying utilities dynamic market notices: no duty to publish a tender notice
- Section 42: Direct award to protect life, etc
- Part 3, Chapter 6: Debarment (Sections 60 - 66)
- Section 89: Treaty state suppliers
- Section 92: Trade disputes
- Section 95: Notices, documents and information: regulations and online system
- Section 97: Information relating to a procurement
- Part 9: Remedies for breach of statutory duty (Sections 100 - 107)
- Part 10: Procurement oversight (Sections 108 - 110)
- Part 11: Appropriate authorities and cross-border procurement (Sections 111 - 113)
- Section 115: Powers relating to procurement arrangements
- Part 12: Amendments and repeals (Sections 116 - 119)
- Part 13: General (Sections 120 - 128)
- Schedule 1: Threshold amounts (Paragraphs 2 - 5)
- Schedule 3: Concession contracts (Paragraph 3)
- Schedule 5: Direct award justifications (Paragraph 1)
- Schedule 6, Part 3: General (Paragraph 45)
- Schedule 7: Discretionary exclusion grounds - Definitions (Paragraphs 16 - 17)
- Schedule 9: Treaty state suppliers (specific international agreements) (Paragraphs 1 - 25)
- Schedule 10: Single source defence contracts (Paragraphs 1 - 20)
- Schedule 11: Repeals and revocations (Paragraphs 1 - 7)
Updates
The information and content contained on this tool is subject to change without notice.
Note: The following content will be available in due course: additional support and guidance in relation to ‘mapped’ PCRs and PPNs (meaning where the tool identifies regulations in the PCRs and / or particular policy documents, such as PPNs, that are relevant to each other). The standard commercial templates uploaded into the tool have received legal clearance.
Procurement legislation
The content of this tool reflects the procurement law position at the time of its writing and the tool’s launch on 27 September 2024 and does not take into account subsequent changes to procurement legislation (defined in the ‘Introduction’).
It remains your responsibility to check whether there are any changes, or outstanding changes, to legislation applicable to your procurement.
Documents
Content relating to the PPNs and / or commercial playbooks reflects the position at the time of its writing and the tool’s launch on 27 September 2024. The content is based on the ‘documents’ (see definition under ‘Introduction’), published on GOV.UK. As and when required, content on the tool will be updated in due course to reflect any changes to these published documents.
Standard commercial templates will be reviewed annually. They may be updated on a more regular basis, as and when required. Therefore, when using templates, you should always use the most recent version uploaded on the tool.