The rules buyers score you against — in plain English.

Central government must now evaluate social value — community, employment and environmental benefits — as a scored criterion when awarding contracts.

Social value weightings on central government contracts rise to a minimum 10% (£1m–£5m) or 20% (£5m+), focused on British jobs and skills, for procurements starting from 1 January 2027.

This PPN (Procurement Policy Note) on supplier payment approaches in major contracts has been superseded and replaced by PPN 04/19 — it is no longer the live policy.

From 1 October 2025, suppliers bidding for central government contracts worth over £5m a year must prove they pay at least 95% of their own invoices within 60 days and all invoices within an average of 45 days.

PPN 10/11 is superseded — it set 2012–2013 procurement thresholds that are now out of date; refer to PPN 10/21 instead.

The contract value thresholds that trigger full public procurement rules under the Procurement Act 2023 are being updated from 1 January 2026, with the key central government threshold rising to £135,018 and the sub-central threshold to £207,720.

Post-Brexit freedoms let contracting authorities reserve and simplify below-threshold contracts to open up public markets to new and smaller suppliers.

Central government buyers can now reserve below-threshold contracts exclusively for SMEs and/or local suppliers, giving small businesses a direct route into public contracts without competing against large firms.