UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITY

What the Procurement Act 2023 Means for Suppliers — and How TACs Fit In

The UK’s public procurement landscape has undergone its most significant reform in decades. With the Procurement Act 2023 now fully in force from 24 February 2025, the government has replaced the old EU-derived Public Contracts Regulations with a fresh, consolidated, and modernised approach to how public bodies award contracts, a change that carries major implications for suppliers and buyers alike.

This shift isn’t just legal housekeeping, it reflects a strategic rethink of public spending: simplifying processes, boosting transparency, and opening the market particularly to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have often been on the margins of public sector opportunity.

However, with greater opportunity comes new expectations around supplier qualification and capability assessment notably with the rise of Technical Ability Certificates (TACs) as a core mechanism for demonstrating a supplier’s readiness to deliver

What the Procurement Act 2023 Aims to Achieve

At its core, the Procurement Act represents a strategic overhaul of how government buys goods, services and works. Key objectives include:

Simplicity and Flexibility: Replacing a patchwork of 350+ legacy regulations with a streamlined regime designed to reduce complexity for both buyers and suppliers.
Transparency and Oversight: New reporting and notice requirements across the full lifecycle, supported by the Central Digital Platform and enhanced Find a Tender service.
Broader Access: A statutory focus on reducing barriers facing SMEs, ensuring smaller firms aren’t discouraged by onerous pre-qualification requirements or opaque processes.
Value and Integrity: Stronger expectations around value for money, supplier performance, and integrity, including debarment for poor performance or misconduct.

This is not a minor tweak, it’s a modern commercial regime intended to make public procurement more competitive, efficient, and ultimately more beneficial to taxpayers and communities alike.

Introducing Technical Ability Certificates (TACs)

One of the practical changes under the new regime is how technical ability, a key condition of participation is assessed. Rather than an array of bespoke requirements, many contracting authorities, particularly under frameworks run by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), now use Technical Ability Certificates (TACs) as part of the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ).

What are TACs?

TACs are structured certificates that allow suppliers to demonstrate their relevant past performance and technical capability in a way that’s consistent, clear, and proportionate.

They are a key part of the new selection process which replaces the older Standard Selection Questionnaire (SSQ) framework from PCR 2015.

TACs require suppliers to detail actual contract delivery experience that aligns with the scope and nature of the contract being tendered.

In essence, TACs help procurement teams assess whether bidders really have the capability, experience, and track record to deliver the contract successfully, before the stage where price and quality are evaluated.

Why TACs Matter More Under the New Regime

Under the Procurement Act 2023, authorities must have regard to barriers that may exist for SMEs and consider whether they can be removed or mitigated. TACs support this by providing a proportionate, standardised means of assessing capability without unnecessary complexity or bespoke evidencing requirements.

For SMEs, this matters because:

Predictability: TACs offer a consistent structure for capability assessment across different procurements — reducing guesswork.
Transparency: The criteria and evidence expected in TACs are clearly set out, helping SMEs prepare more competitive submissions.
Access: By streamlining evidencing, TACs can lower administrative burden — a well-designed TAC process should level the playing field for smaller organisations.

In practice, TACs require suppliers to select examples of work that best match the requirements of the contract, and in many procurements, to have those examples verified by a client or referee — adding confidence to buyer decision-making.

Strategic Implications for SMEs and Procurement Leaders

Plan for Capability Evidence, Not Just Compliance
Under the old regime, meeting financial thresholds or ticking basic boxes could sometimes be enough to proceed. Under the new regime, demonstrable delivery experience via TACs is a must, so SMEs must prioritise documenting and organising robust contract histories.
Build Standardised Evidence Libraries
Rather than bespoke case studies per bid, consider creating a standardised set of verified TACs that can be adapted across opportunities — saving time and improving consistency.
Understand the PSQ Process
The Procurement Specific Questionnaire replaces the old SSQ. Suppliers that master the PSQ and TAC approach will gain an advantage in both transparency and responsiveness — key differentiators in competitive procurements.
Engage Early and Educate Referees
Because TACs often require referee verification, pre-engagement with past clients to ensure they understand what’s being asked can reduce delays and strengthen your submission.

Final Thoughts: Turning Reform into Advantage

The Procurement Act 2023 is more than just a legislative update, it’s a paradigm shift in how the UK spends public money. Its emphasis on clarity, transparency, SME inclusion and proportionate assessment reflects a modern understanding of public value.

For suppliers, particularly SMEs, the new regime offers significant opportunity, but only if they adapt to the new qualification mechanics embodied by tools such as Technical Ability Certificates. TACs are not just another form to complete; they are a strategic means of showcasing capability in a way that public sector buyers can trust and act on.

By investing early in understanding the Procurement Act and building capability evidence accordingly, organisations can position themselves to win more public contracts and build more sustainable relationships with buyers under the new regime.