Welsh Procurement Policy Note (WPPN) 004: Transparency – publication of contract details notices

Image

• A prosperous Wales

• This Welsh Procurement Policy Note (WPPN) is effective from the date of commencement of the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024. For procurements started prior to this date (24th February 2025), please refer to WPPN 01/24.
• It has been updated to reflect changes introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024, such as new terminology. It does not constitute a change in policy.
• Any policy should be read in conjunction with the Wales Procurement Policy Statement, the Procurement Act 2023, the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024 and the Social Partnership & Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023.
• 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.
• References to the ‘Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024’ will be expressed herein as “the Procurement Regime”.

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”) utilises some new terminology, which includes a change of name for a Contract Award notice to “Contract details notice”. To help devolved Welsh authorities (DWAs) to prepare (and implement) for the Procurement Regime, reference to a “Contract details Notice” will be used throughout this WPPN.

1.2 This WPPN deals specifically with the change to the thresholds for publishing Contract details notices Non Sell2Wales (S2W), and to promote this approach as best practice to DWAs.

1.3 The change supports the transparency requirements of the Act required of DWAs that will be effective from February 2025.

1.4 The regulations for Wales will state that Central Government Authorities (“CGAs”) must publish Contract details notices for all procurements above the value of £30,000 and Sub-central Government Authorities (“SGAs”) above £30,000.

1.5 This is an increase in the threshold for CGAs whilst the threshold for SGAs remains the same (see 3.2 below for further information).

1.6 Please note that if you are DWA who is a central government authority (CGA) and awarding a notifiable below-threshold contract under a reserved (non-devolved) procurement arrangement (for example Crown Commercial Services framework) the UK government’s Procurement legislation will need to be followed. This will mean in the case of this WPPN that CGAs would need to publish a contract details notice for any call-offs valued over £12,000.

1.7 DWAs 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.

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

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

2.3 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.

3.1 The Procurement Act establishes transparency thresholds that apply to procurements undertaken by Central Government Authorities (“CGAs”) and Sub-Central Authorities. The transparency threshold is the value above which a Contract details notice must be published.

3.2 It was originally intended that the applicable threshold for Below Threshold Contracts in Wales would be raised from £12,000 (which is the value applicable to non-Welsh contracting authorities) to £24,000 for CGAs, with the threshold for Sub Central Organisations remaining the same as UKG at £30,000.

3.3 Following the results of our public consultation in June – August 2023 and representation from a number of DWAs, Welsh Government revisited the below transparency threshold values applicable to Wales in the Procurement Act 2023 and have included a single consistent transparency threshold for all DWAs at £30,000 in our Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024.

3.4 The view being communicated is that it is essential to support the ethos of ‘one Welsh public service’, to encourage collaborative working. We therefore needed to retain consistency wherever possible and a single transparency threshold for Wales supports this approach.

3.5 A single threshold will also support delivery of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 5 ways of working, working together, sharing common principles and collaborating for the benefit of Wales - within and across organisational boundaries and sectors as one Welsh Public Service.

3.6 The Welsh Government therefore revisited the below transparency threshold values applicable to Wales in the Procurement Act 2023.

4.1 Following the change to the below-threshold value (as outlined in section 3 of this WPPN above) DWAs should note that the threshold for publishing a contract details notice in relation to ‘notifiable below-threshold contracts’ for devolved Welsh authorities, (unless procuring under a reserved procurement arrangement), is £30,000 inclusive of VAT.

4.2 Therefore, once a public contract (as defined in section 3 of the Procurement Act 2023) or a notifiable below-threshold contract has been entered into, a Contract details notice will need to be published on Sell2Wales. Please note that a contract details notice is not required for contracts awarded by a private utility, or in relation to a contract awarded under section under paragraph 15 of Schedule 5 (direct award: user choice contracts) of the Procurement Act 2023.

As a minimum (but not limited to), the following information must be published on Sell2Wales (please refer to The Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024, Regulations 33 – 37 for the full set of details that required in a contract details notice):

• the full name of the winning supplier
• the date on which the contract was entered into
• the total value of the contract in pounds sterling, and
• an indication of whether the contractor is a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) or a non-governmental organisation (see Annex 1 for definitions of SME and non-governmental organisation)

4.3 Contract details notices must be published on Sell2Wales within 30 calendar days of the contract being entered into, unless the contract is a light-touch contract where the contract details notice must be published within 120 calendar days of being entered into.

4.4 For the purpose of this guidance, ‘the date on which the contract was entered into” means the date on which the contract was signed by the last contracting party. The first calendar day begins on this day.

4.5 Where the deadline date for publication ends on a non-working day, the authority has until the end of the next working day to publish the Contract details notice.

4.6 Should the DWA determine that an exemption to the requirement to publish a contract details notice in compliance with the Procurement Regime is applicable, then the decision to not publish Contract details notice, and the rationale for that decision, should be fully recorded by the DWA at the time the decision is made.

4.7 If a DWA commenced a procurement process under the former procurement legislation prior to the new Procurement Regime coming into force, then the DWA will be required to utilise the notices from the relevant procurement regime at the required stages in the process. For example, if a DWA started a procurement prior to 24 February 2025 and therefore under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the DWA will need to publish a contract award notice to signal that they have awarded a contract. This also includes call-offs under a framework established prior to 24 February 2025. DWAs would need to comply with the relevant obligations (such as the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) when procuring and awarding a call-off from such a framework. Sell2Wales will allow for a transition period where a number of notices will be available to allow DWAs to finish such procurements. Please refer to ‘WPPN 01/24 – Transparency – Publication of Contract Award Notices’ for further information on publication of contract award notices under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 etc.

5.1 DWAs are advised to review this policy note and the additional information in paragraph 9.2 to meet transparency requirements in readiness for the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023.

Including but not limited to:

• The Procurement Act 2023
• The Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024
• The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

7.1 This WPPN applies to procurements commenced under the Procurement Regime and is therefore effective from the commencement of the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024 until it is superseded or cancelled.

8.1 This WPPN aligns with the following WPPS (as published 2021) 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.

9.1 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.

9.2 Please refer to the available guidance published on the Procurement Act 2023, for further information – in particular the guidance on “Contract details notices”, “below-threshold contracts” and the “Welsh Digital Platform (Sell2Wales)”.

Any queries should be directed to CommercialPolicy@gov.wales

SME

Procurement Act 2023, Section 123 “small and medium-sized enterprises” means suppliers that:

1. have fewer than 250 staff, and
2. have a turnover of an amount less than or equal to £44 million, or a balance sheet total of an amount less than or equal to £38 million.

Source: Department for Business and Trade (formerly part of BEIS), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) action plan: 2022 to 2025 (accessible webpage) on GOV.UK

Non-governmental organisation

The Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024, Regulation 37(2)(e)(iv)(bb):

a non-governmental organisation that is value-driven and which principally reinvests its surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives.