Procurement Act 2023 KPIs and Post-Award Transparency: What Contract Managers Need to Know

Purpose: How to prepare for the Act KPI, contract-details and publication duties that apply to certain higher-value public contracts.

How to prepare for the Act KPI, contract-details and publication duties that apply to certain higher-value public contracts. This matters because public procurement decisions are rarely isolated events. A choice made during planning can affect competition, affordability, service quality, supplier behaviour and the ability to manage the contract later. The strongest approach is therefore to use the source guidance as part of an end-to-end commercial process, with clear ownership and evidence rather than as a document that is completed after the key decisions have already been taken.

Quick summary

• Section 52 requires at least three KPIs before entering into a public contract with an estimated value above £5 million unless supplier performance could not appropriately be assessed by KPIs.
• KPIs set under section 52 must be published.
• Section 71 provides for assessment and publication of information about performance against relevant KPIs.
• Section 53 requires a contract details notice after entering into a public contract within the statutory period.
• For public contracts above £5 million, section 53 also requires publication of a copy of the contract within the applicable statutory period, subject to the Act.

What the guidance means in practice

The source material gives several anchors for that process. Section 52 requires at least three KPIs before entering into a public contract with an estimated value above £5 million unless supplier performance could not appropriately be assessed by KPIs. KPIs set under section 52 must be published. Section 71 provides for assessment and publication of information about performance against relevant KPIs. These are not interchangeable statements: some describe statutory or policy requirements and others describe recommended commercial practice. Teams should identify which category each requirement falls into, apply it to the organisation and procurement in scope, and keep a record of the judgement. Where guidance from 2021 or 2023 predates the Procurement Act 2023, its commercial principles can remain useful, but current legislation, regulations and current statutory guidance take precedence on legal process.

The practical value becomes clearer when the remaining guidance is read alongside the project lifecycle. Section 53 requires a contract details notice after entering into a public contract within the statutory period. For public contracts above £5 million, section 53 also requires publication of a copy of the contract within the applicable statutory period, subject to the Act. The 2026 Contract Management Playbook connects these legal duties to broader performance-management practice. In day-to-day terms, this means the buyer should be able to answer three questions at any approval point: what outcome are we trying to achieve, what evidence supports the proposed commercial approach, and what will need to be managed after the decision is made? If those answers are weak, more analysis is normally more useful than adding another layer of narrative to an approval paper.

A practical process to follow

A proportionate process can be built into existing governance. The steps below are deliberately practical. They are not a substitute for the detailed source guidance, legal advice or local standing orders, but they provide a useful structure for a procurement or commercial team.

1. Step 1. Decide the contract outcomes that need formal KPIs before contract signature. Record any assumption that could change the conclusion and when it will be reviewed.
2. Step 2. Define calculation methods, data ownership, baselines and reporting frequency. Keep the analysis proportionate to the value, risk, novelty and criticality of the requirement.
3. Step 3. Check whether a statutory exception applies and document the reasoning if KPIs are not set. Capture the source evidence and name the person accountable for the next decision.
4. Step 4. Build required publication tasks into mobilisation. Record any assumption that could change the conclusion and when it will be reviewed.
5. Step 5. Run performance governance so published information is supported by the underlying contract record. Keep the analysis proportionate to the value, risk, novelty and criticality of the requirement.
6. Step 6. Coordinate any change to KPIs or terms with legal, transparency and change-control requirements. Capture the source evidence and name the person accountable for the next decision.

What good looks like

Good practice is visible in the decision trail, not only in the final document. A reviewer should be able to follow the line from the service need, through market and cost evidence, to the route, evaluation, contract terms and management arrangements. Where several functions contribute, the file should show who owns each decision and where challenge occurred. The same principle applies to handover: useful assumptions, models, KPI definitions, risks, supplier information and approval conditions should move into mobilisation and contract management instead of being left in the sourcing archive. This continuity is particularly important for long-running public services, where staff can change but the organisation remains accountable for the outcome.

Recommendations for procurement teams

The following recommendations are suitable for teams that want to embed the topic into normal ways of working rather than create a parallel compliance process:

• Design KPIs during procurement, not after signature.
• Make them measurable and connected to the specification.
• Avoid inventing three artificial measures merely to meet the statutory number.
• Give contract managers access to the data needed for performance reporting.
• Align internal reporting with published performance information.
• Assign clear ownership for statutory notices and publication deadlines.

Common pitfalls to avoid

The most common problems are usually process failures rather than a lack of templates. Watch particularly for the following:

• Treating KPI publication as a communications task separate from contract management.
• Using vague measures that cannot be assessed objectively.
• Missing publication duties because ownership is unclear.
• Changing KPI definitions informally during delivery.

Easy-to-read takeaway

For procurement act 2023 kpis and post-award transparency: what contract managers need to know, the core discipline is to start early, connect the analysis to a real decision and preserve enough evidence for the next stage of the lifecycle. The source material should help teams make better decisions, not merely produce more paperwork. Before acting on a live procurement, confirm the current version of the Procurement Act 2023, regulations, Procurement Policy Notes and any organisation-specific approvals or delegations. This is especially important for thresholds, notice duties, exemptions and policy requirements that can change over time.

Source basis

Primary source used: Procurement Act 2023, version generated 24 July 2026. Related articles in this collection also draw on the other supplied Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Procurement Act materials where the topics overlap.

This article is general procurement support content. It should be read alongside current legislation, statutory guidance and your organisation’s own governance and legal advice.