UK Public Procurement (Procurement Act 2023)

Overview

Draft and validate Selection Questionnaires and Tender Responses under the UK Procurement Act 2023 for public sector procurements. The skill covers the full SQ-to-tender workflow — from exclusion grounds screening (Schedules 6 & 7) and debarment list checks, through conditions of participation, to Social Value evaluation aligned with PPN 06/20 and the TOMs framework.

Example Conversation

You: We need to prepare an SQ and tender response for a managed IT services contract worth £2.5m with the Ministry of Justice, using the competitive flexible procedure.

Agent: I’ll start by drafting the Selection Questionnaire using the Procurement Act 2023 template. Since this is above threshold and for central government, PPN 06/20 applies — social value will carry at least 10% weighting. Let me set up the SQ with all mandatory exclusion grounds from Schedule 6, discretionary grounds from Schedule 7, and a debarment list declaration…

(Agent produces a complete SQ and runs the exclusion grounds audit tool)

Agent: The audit found all 9 mandatory grounds and the debarment list check are addressed. Two discretionary grounds need attention: conflict of interest and sub-contractor exclusion coverage. Let me add those sections…

Output Excerpt

A typical Selection Questionnaire produced by this skill includes structured exclusion-ground declarations such as:

A3. Theft, fraud, bribery, or money laundering (Sch 6 para 3) Has the Supplier or any connected person been convicted of any offence under the Theft Act 1968, Fraud Act 2006, Bribery Act 2010, or Proceeds of Crime Act 2002?

☐ Yes ☐ No

The Social Value section of the tender response aligns with PPN 06/20’s five themes, with TOM-code-backed quantified commitments:

Theme 2 — Tackling Economic Inequality Commitments: 3 new apprenticeships (NT3), £150k annual spend with local SMEs (NT7), 200 hours of employability support (NT4).

Validation Tools

• exclusion_grounds_audit — Scans the SQ draft against the Procurement Act 2023 Schedules 6 & 7. Reports which mandatory and discretionary grounds are addressed, flags missing debarment list checks, and verifies connected-persons and self-cleaning provisions.
• tender_logic_gate — Validates the Social Value section against PPN 06/20 requirements. Checks for all five themes, TOM code references, the 10% minimum weighting, delivery plan, and measurement commitments. Flags generic pledges that lack quantification.

Getting Started

Add your procurement specification, scope of work, or invitation to tender to the project workspace, then activate the UK Public Procurement (Procurement Act 2023) skill. The agent will guide you through drafting the SQ and tender response step by step.