Amendments to Contract Procedure Rules Version 7, July 2026
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The Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs) have been further reviewed and updated following their initial revision to reflect the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024 (effective 24 February 2025).
Key updates include:
- Updated Tender threshold now £100,000 (inclusive of VAT), reflecting the requirement under the Procurement Act 2023 to assess thresholds on a VAT inclusive basis, meaning the previous VAT exclusive threshold represented a lower equivalent value (CPR Section 8).
- Strengthened governance and oversight, including expanded requirements to engage the Corporate Procurement Unit at key stages (CPR Sections 4 and 11).
- New provision requiring CMT endorsement where the Council proposes to act as Lead Authority for collaborative procurement exercises (CPR Clause 5.2).
- Requirement for written Head of Service approval prior to award for all above Threshold procurement exercises, including contracts, frameworks and call-offs (CPR Clause 11.1).
- Clarified and strengthened legislative duties, including the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 (CPR 1.10).
- Alignment of contract modification and approval processes with the Procurement Act 2023 (including Section 74 and Schedule 8), with clarified approval routes (CPR 14).
- Additional governance controls, including mandatory engagement with Digital Services and consultation with Corporate Services where relevant (CPR Section 4 and 4.15).
- Clarification of scope and application of provisions, including Social Care specific user choice (CPR 13) and treatment of above Threshold exceptions outside Schedule 5 (CPR 13.4.2).
- Enhanced transparency and reporting requirements, including pipeline, contract and payment-related notices, and associated authorisation requirements (CPR Sections 17–19).
Overall, these updates are intended to support consistent and compliant application of the CPRs across the Authority, provide greater clarity for officers, and reflect learning from the initial implementation of the new procurement regime.