Part 8 of the Procurement Act deals with transparency, notices and record-keeping to ensure accountability.
Pipeline Notices
Section 93 sets out the obligation to publish a formal Pipeline Notice wherever an authority expects to spend over £100m per year on services, goods and works contracts. This includes directly awarded contracts and contracts called off from a framework or dynamic market.
If this £100m threshold is exceeded, the Pipeline Notice should itemise each individual contract valued over £2m in relation to which the authority intends to publish a Tender Notice or a Transparency Notice (if it is a direct award).
The Pipeline Notice is a snapshot as at the date of publication and there is not statutory obligation to keep it up to date. However government guidance on pipeline notices suggests that if new contracts enter the pipeline (or are removed from it) it will be good practice to update the notice.
You can view our webinar and FAQs covering pipeline notices here.
Central Digital Platform and form of Notices
The Act requires a wide range of notices to be published to a central digital platform. Section 95 permits regulations to made covering the form and content of notices and the use of a particular online system. This detail is currently contained in the Procurement Regulations 2024.
Record Keeping
Section 98 requires an authority to keep such records as it considers are necessary to explain material decisions made in relation to the award of, or entry into, a public contract.
“Material” here means where the authorities required to publish a notice or where it’s required to make a decision. There’s also an obligation to keep records of all communications with suppliers which are made prior to contract award and concern the procurement or the award of the contract.
There’s an obligation to keep these records for a period of three years from contract award date, although obligations around record keeping in other legislation take precedence if these require longer retention. The obligation to keep records is extinguished if the authority decides not to proceed to award and publishes a Procurement Termination Notice.
Confused by all the new Notices under the Act?
Don't despair - our Notices Generator is here to help. Just as with our Standstill Calculator, answer a few simple questions and watch it generate a printable report setting out which notices are mandatory and optional for your procurement.
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