Welsh Procurement Policy Note (WPPN) 018: Publication of contract details notices for call-offs under legacy arrangements

Image

• A prosperous Wales

• Welsh Procurement Policy Note (WPPN) ‘018: Publication of contract details notices for call-offs under legacy arrangements’, clarifies publication of the contract details notice in relation to call-off contracts from frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems that were established under ‘The Public Contracts Regulations 2015’ (PCR 2015).
• WPPN 018 replaces and supersedes WPPN ‘01/24: Transparency – publication of contract award notices’.
• Any policy should be read in conjunction with the:
  • Wales Procurement Policy Statement
  • the Procurement Act 2023
  • the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024
  • the Social Partnership & Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023
  • Social Partnership & Public Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2026
• It should not be treated as legal advice and is not intended to be exhaustive – contracting parties should seek their own independent advice as appropriate. Please also note that the law is subject to constant change and advice should be sought in individual cases.
• The note assumes a certain level of knowledge of public procurement. It is available via the Welsh Government website GOV.WALES and any queries should be directed to CommercialPolicy@gov.wales or via the Welsh Governments’ customer services.

Please note that all thresholds in this WPPN include VAT. Also please note that VAT is only applicable to certain goods and services.

1.1 The Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) requires a Contract details notice (“CDN”) to be published when a public contract is being entered into (section 53 of the Act), with a CDN also required for notifiable below-threshold contracts (section 87 of the Act).

1.2 The new procurement legislation applies only to contracts awarded under the new procurement regime from 24 February 2025. Contracts prior to this are not subject to the requirements to publish a CDN. This policy note summarises some of the benefits for publishing a CDN, including for contracts not subject to the Procurement Act 2023 and associated regulations.

2.1 The Welsh Ministers laid regulations (‘The Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024’, paragraph 47(3)) under the Act that amend the notifiable below-threshold contract value to £30,000. This means that Central Government Authorities (“CGAs”) and Sub-central Government Authorities (“SGAs”) must publish CDNs for all procurements above the value of £30,000.

2.2 If you are a Welsh Contracting Authority (WCA) awarding a call-off contract under a reserved procurement arrangement under the Procurement Act 2023, (for example, from a Crown Commercial Services framework), you will then need to follow the UK government’s Procurement regulations. This means that CGAs will need to publish a CDN for a notifiable below-threshold contract with an estimated value of £12,000 while non-central authorities must publish a CDN for a notifiable below-threshold contract with an estimated value of not less than £30,000 (see section 87(4) of the Act).

2.3 WCAs are also reminded of commitments to advertise contracts over £30,000 set out in Welsh Procurement Policy Note WPPN 013: Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs)-friendly procurement.

3.1 Publishing a CDN is a transparency requirement of the Act. Under the new procurement legislation of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 (SPPP Act), once a CDN is published on the Welsh digital platform, the information will be automatically published on the “contract register” function on the platform if enabled by the WCA. This will enable easier transparency of all the contracts a WCA has awarded, providing data such as contract type, supplier, contract duration, etc.

3.2 Further information on the CDN can be found in the following guidance - Procurement Act 2023 guidance: contract details notices.

3.3 However, for in-flight Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems that were awarded before the new regime came into force, (in this case the PCR 2015) a CDN is not a legal requirement for the call-offs.

3.4 This prevents a full and accurate record being maintained of contracts awarded over £30,000.

3.5 In order to have more accurate data, it is recommended that WCAs publish a CDN for call-offs from Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems that were awarded under the old regime (if they are not already doing so).

3.6 Where a CDN cannot be published because the supplier is not registered on the Central Digital Platform and therefore does not have the unique identifier needed to complete the notice, WCAs should instead publish a ‘site award notice’ on Sell2Wales. This will help maintain transparency for call-offs under legacy arrangements where the technical requirements for a CDN cannot be met. For clarity, a standalone CDN can also be published, for example, in relation to where you have called-off from a framework.

3.7 This will ensure that all data is pulled into the contract register function on Sell2Wales, via published CDNs (or a site award notice). This will enable the contracts register requirements under the SPPP Act to be met and create better accuracy of the number (and value) of notifiable below-threshold contracts that been awarded by WCAs, and where these have been awarded to Welsh-based suppliers and/or Welsh small and medium-sized enterprises.

4.1 WCAs should review this policy note to understand the data gap arising from the introduction of the new regime and consider adopting the guidance to improve transparency, and to assist compliance with the ‘Contracts Register’ requirement in the SPPP Act.

5.1 This WPPN has been published to assist all WCAs, including Welsh Government departments, NHS Wales bodies, Welsh Government sponsored bodies, local authorities and the wider public sector.

5.2 This WPPN covers goods, services and works contracts being delivered in Wales.

5.3 Please circulate this WPPN across your organisation and to other relevant organisations that you are responsible for, drawing it to the specific attention of those in procurement, commercial and finance roles.

Including but not limited to:

• The Procurement Act 2023
• The Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024
• The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
• Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023
• Regulations published under the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023.

7.1 This WPPN aligns with the following WPPS Principles:

Principle 2

We will integrate procurement into the heart of Welsh policy development and implementation.

Principle 9

We will improve the integration and user experience of our digital solutions and applications, maximising the use of our procurement data to support decision making.

8.1 This WPPN supports the Digital Strategy for Wales.

• Mission 4: digital economy - Procurement practices and policies support innovation and economic prosperity, allowing businesses in Wales to thrive and we support public sector in working with a responsive market of companies.
• Mission 6: data and collaboration - Public sector data is made available and published openly, where it is appropriate (i.e not personal data), in formats that support transparency, re-use and accountability.

8.2 Please refer to the available guidance published on the Procurement Act 2023 Guidance webpage, for further information – in particular the guidance on “Contract details notices”, “below-threshold contracts” and the “Welsh Digital Platform (Sell2Wales)”. The following webpage also provides links to relevant regulations published under the Procurement Act 2023.

8.3 Please also refer to the following webpage for further information, guidance and regulations published under the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023, in particular ‘Statutory guidance: contracts register’: Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act.

9.1 If you have any questions about this WPPN, please contact:

CommercialPolicy@gov.wales / PolisiMasnachol@llyw.cymru