Procurement in a Nutshell: Procurement oversight guidance
13th February, 2026
The Government Commercial Function has recently published guidance regarding procurement oversight.
This is intended to help ensure the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 are adhered to, through provision of recommendations and guidance, following investigation of a contracting authority’s compliance. This will also help to ensure the benefits of the legislation are achieved.
Legal framework governing procurement oversight
Part 10 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Procurement Oversight) comprises three provisions, which enable the procurement oversight regime to support contracting authorities’ compliance with the requirements of the Acts, these are:
- Section 108 (Procurement investigations) outlines that an appropriate authority may investigate a relevant contracting authority’s compliance with requirements of the Act and require a relevant contracting authority to provide documents and give assistance in connection with the investigation, as is reasonable.
- Section 109 (Recommendations following procurement investigations) provides that, following a procurement investigation, an appropriate authority may issue a recommendation (a s109 recommendation) to a relevant contracting authority, if it considers that the contracting authority is engaging in action which is causing, or is likely to cause, a breach of requirement of the PA 2023. The contracting authority must have regard to the s109 recommendation.
- Section 110 (Guidance following procurement investigation) states that following a procurement investigation, an appropriate authority may publish ‘lessons learned’ guidance, to support compliance with the requirements of the Act by contracting authorities generally. Contracting authorities must have regard to this guidance.
What has changed?
- The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEEA) gave powers to the Minister for the Cabinet Office or Secretary of State to investigate a contracting authority’s exercise of relevant functions relating to the procurement. The PA 2023 repeals these powers and replaces them with the powers contained in part 10.
- ‘Maintained schools’ (as defined in the Education Act 2002) and ‘academies’ (as defined in the Education Act 1996 and 2010) were not within the scope of investigation under the SBEEA but are in scope of the new oversight regime in the PA 2023.
- The Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS), which sits within the Cabinet Office, currently carries out investigations into procurement functions under the SBEEA on behalf of the Minister. PPRS will continue to operate on this basis, but instead now utilising the power provided by section 108 PA 2023 as part of the new Procurement Review Unit.
For further information please contact Melanie Pears or Tim Care in our Public Sector team.
Procurement and public law update
Our in-person Procurement and Public Law Update covers the new procurement rules and their increased transparency requirements.
This seminar will look at what those changes have meant in practice since both the new Act and the new NHS regime came into force. We will give practical tips on how to manage procurements now and how to deal with the risks of challenge when the timescales are so tight.
Register here to join this free session with procurement law experts Tim Care and Matthew Brady.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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