29 April 2024 
Ashley Shelbrooke, HEPA and Project Specialist
An update for HEPA members from the Cabinet Office regarding the Transforming Public Procurement Programme, as at April 2024...
Following the laying of secondary legislation last month, we can confirm that we are working towards a ‘go-live’ date for the new regime of Monday 28 October 2024.
This date will be formalised in Commencement Regulations which we expect to be made in May - we will update you when this has taken place.
Our announcement marks the beginning of the six month preparation period, and as we countdown to October, we will remain committed to ensuring all our stakeholders are fully supported and kept informed as you prepare. Over the coming months you can expect further support, in particular:
- Continued publication of our suite of Procurement Act 2023 guidance
- Launch of our Communities of Practice and Advanced Course of Deep Dives for procurement practitioners
- Supplier information campaign
- Publication of all e-Learning module content and further learning aids
To mark the beginning of the six month preparation period, we are delighted to announce the launch of the official e-learning product.
This is a key learning product to support practitioners in implementing the new regime. The e-learning is aimed at all operational procurement staff - this includes staff whose main role is to run tenders or let contracts, or procurement / commercial professionals whose main role is to manage suppliers or contracts.
Comprising 10 x 1 hour modules, the e-learning covers all aspects of the new reforms, such as key regulation changes, transparency and the competitive flexible procedure.
Learners who complete the course and achieve certification will be awarded a certificate along with an e-badge for adding to email signatures, evidencing attainment at Practitioner level. The e-badge will be available to manually download from the Government Commercial College (GCC) website upon completion of the e-learning modules.
We will also be publishing the full content of the modules in an extensive learning manual on gov.uk in May for all stakeholders to access, and individual learning aids supporting the modules will be also available on the GCC from May onwards.
The e-learning modules are only available via registration with the GCC.
Visit www.govcommercialcollege.co.uk to register.
Once registered, you will find the e-learning product on the dedicated Transforming Public Procurement (TPP) area on the GCC website. There will be a direct link to the e-Learning course from the GCC homepage.
Whilst our e-learning is only available to procurement practitioners, we encourage all our other stakeholders to view our Knowledge Drops, with videos for suppliers, including dedicated videos for SME and VCSE suppliers.
If you experience any issues in accessing the e-learning via the GCC, please contact gcftpp-busops@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
You will be fully supported by the Government Commercial Function in completing the course, with a vibrant Communities of Practice suite of learning events launching on 8 May 2024, where you can exchange knowledge, learning and experience with other procurement operational staff.
The Communities of Practice suite of meet-up events will be hosted and delivered via MS teams. These meet-ups will be open to all practitioners and will cover specific topics across the procurement lifecycle including: navigating the new procedures and insights to transparency, helping to increase confidence when using the Procurement Act 2023.
Details of Communities of Practice events can currently be found on eventbrite with a dedicated home page on the Government Commercial College going live on 8 May.
To support our stakeholders in their preparation for the Act, we are publishing a suite of guidance documents that address all aspects of the new regime, providing technical guidance, and help with interpretation and understanding.
These guidance documents cover a broad range of subjects from covered procurement through to pre-market engagement, award rules, exclusions and contract modifications.
In April we are publishing specific guidance for Transitional Arrangements, which can be viewed here.
We aim to publish the full suite of guidance documents by the end of June 2024.
Please note that you can subscribe to the above gov.uk page and as a result, receive a notification when the page is updated with further guidance documents. We will continue to issue bulletins when each new batch of guidance is published to ensure that you are kept up to date.
