Housing procurement adapts to Procurement Act 2023 with a focus on transparency and centralised strategies

A year after the Procurement Act 2023’s introduction, housing-sector procurement teams are consolidating practices, emphasising transparency, centralised data management, and strategic approaches to meet new legislative demands and improve outcomes for tenants and providers.

A year after the Procurement Act 2023 came into force, housing-sector procurement teams report a period of consolidation in which the legislation has reshaped practice more by culture than by ...

radical overnight change. Organisations that had the capacity to adapt early have used transitional arrangements to preserve continuity, while others are still adjusting to clearer obligations and new administrative steps, according to Procure Plus, which has supported social landlords and suppliers across the past 18 months.

Procure Plus says it has used the transition window to run four closed frameworks for housing clients , including two focused on low-carbon works, and frameworks for lift maintenance and building safety services that it expects to put out to contract award in spring 2026 , and to convene a North West Community of Practice to share emerging practice across providers and supply chains. According to the organisation, that peer network has been central to translating statutory requirements into workable procurement routines and to smoothing adoption at scale.

One of the most visible operational changes has been the introduction of a central digital platform and tightened notice and standstill requirements, which supporters argue reduce administrative duplication and raise accountability. Procure Plus says the platform has encouraged broader engagement from small and medium-sized enterprises by making opportunities easier to find and by standardising information. Industry commentary has likewise flagged the Act’s stronger transparency duties as encouraging earlier planning, more formal governance and improved contract oversight.

However, the reforms have exposed capacity pressures, particularly among smaller housing associations accustomed to the less prescriptive approach that applied to below-threshold procurements. While the substantive rules for below-threshold activity are not new, the Act’s clearer framing means procuring teams must revisit thresholds, templates and audit trails, adding workload for bodies with limited procurement resource. The result, practitioners say, is a renewed need for proportionate processes that satisfy compliance without imposing unnecessary complexity on suppliers or contracting authorities.

Centralised procurement authorities are emerging as one response to those pressures. According to a Procure Plus briefing, CPAs can offer pooled expertise, faster ramp-up of projects and consistent application of the new rules across multiple organisations. Advocates suggest CPAs also provide economies of scale that help smaller providers access value-for-money frameworks and specialist contract management skills otherwise difficult to maintain in-house.

Data management has become a recurring theme. Analysis circulated by procurement advisers highlights how reliable, centralised information systems make it easier to demonstrate transparency, manage risk and measure social value over a contract’s life. Where data flows are fragmented, officials warn, the new publication and reporting duties risk becoming a box-ticking exercise rather than a tool for improving outcomes across the supply chain.

Looking ahead, practitioners describe the second year of implementation as a test of consistency and of whether the Act’s flexibility will be used to deliver better outcomes rather than just compliance. Government support through the Cabinet Office’s Transforming Public Procurement programme has been credited with easing the operational transition, but sector leaders say further work is needed at board level to embed strategic procurement as a governance priority and to ensure smaller providers are not left behind by the greater transparency and procedural rigour the law requires.

If the first year was largely about learning the new mechanics, the coming period will determine whether collective approaches , shared frameworks, centralised authorities and improved data systems , convert those mechanics into demonstrable value for social housing tenants, suppliers and commissioners. According to Procure Plus, the opportunity now lies in using the Act’s built-in flexibility to deliver more transparent, effective and inclusive procurement across the housing sector.

Source: Noah Wire Services