Procurement Compliance & Oversight
Procurement Compliance & Oversight (PCO) has responsibility for oversight of the Procurement Act 2023.
Overview
Procurement Compliance and Oversight (PCO) aims to improve the capability and practices of contracting authorities for the benefit of everyone involved in public procurement by ensuring their compliance with the Procurement Act 2023.
This will be achieved through:
- Overseeing general compliance with procurement legislation
- Maintaining fairness within the public sector procurement landscape
- Investigating potential instances of non-compliance Issuing recommendations or guidance to contracting authorities with a view to improved practice
- Actively reviewing and monitoring contracting authorities’ implementation of recommendations via progress reports to ensure that corrective actions are appropriately actioned. Working with procurement practitioners, via case studies and engagement sessions so others can learn and seek to avoid non-compliance.
PCO Services
PCO consists of two distinct services. Choose the service that matches your requirements.
Before using the PCO services we encourage you to read the relevant services’ scope and remit documents. These documents explain what the services can and cannot do and their ‘Privacy Notices’. By submitting a referral form for one of PCO’s services, you acknowledge and accept the scope and remit of the service.
Please note: The scope of the PCS relates to non-compliance with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023, but the PCS does not investigate specific decisions made by a contracting authority in respect of a particular procurement. If you are a supplier with a vested interest in an individual procurement, payment or contract management issue use the PPRS.
| Report a concern with an individual procurement (supplier only) | Report Procurement Act 2023 compliance concern (anyone) |
|---|---|
| Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) | Procurement Compliance Service (PCS) |
| PPRS investigates supplier concerns about specific issues with poor public sector procurement practice that relate to a particular procurement. These concerns may relate to live procurements, completed procurements, or late payments under the Procurement Act 2023 or the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. | PCS investigates contracting authorities’ compliance with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 and where appropriate, may issue recommendations and/or guidance. Generally, the PCS considers potential non-compliance at systemic and institutional levels. |
|
Raise a concern with Public Procurement Review Service |
Raise a concern with Procurement Compliance Service |
The services will respect the confidentiality of referrals where requested, but cannot guarantee confidentiality where legal obligations require disclosure.
More information on the PCO services
Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS)
The Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) investigates public sector procurements in response to a supplier’s (or a supplier’s representative’s) complaint about a specific procurement or contract management. PPRS also handles cases involving the late payment of invoices.
- The issue must have taken place within the last 2 years.
- The issue can relate to any stage of the procurement lifecycle.
- PPRS might make recommendations to contracting authorities which may lead to current procurements being adjusted or reviewed.
- These recommendations are non-binding.
PPRS may escalate cases and/or patterns of poor procurement practice under the Procurement Act 2023 to the Procurement Compliance Service.
The PPRS may carry out a wide range of investigations into specific procurements relating to non-compliance or poor procurement practice, including statutory and non-statutory reviews (as appropriate) of procurements regulated by the Procurement Act 2023 and the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. It will also carry out non-statutory reviews of specific procurements involving central government authorities.
Procurement Compliance Service (PCS)
The Procurement Compliance Service (PCS) focuses on investigating in-scope contracting authorities’, as set out in the PCS Scope and Remit, compliance with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023.
- PCS covers both central and wider public sector contracting authorities (such as NHS, local government and universities).
- The PCS will generally utilise the statutory powers under Part 10 of the Procurement Act 2023 to carry out investigations into a relevant contracting authority’s compliance with the Act, but may also carry out non-statutory investigations where appropriate to do so (i.e. in relation to contracting authorities that do not fall within the powers in the Procurement Act 2023).
- The PCS will consider, but not be limited to, investigating systemic (actual or potential breaches common across multiple contracting authorities) and institutional (breaches that are regularly being made, or are anticipated to be made, by one particular contracting authority) breaches of the Procurement Act 2023.
- Anyone can submit a referral to the PCS. However, please note that not all concerns raised will result in an investigation.
The PCS may issue recommendations to the contracting authority that it is investigating as to the action it should take to comply with the Procurement Act 2023. A recommendation issued under the Procurement Act 2023 cannot relate to a contracting authority’s compliance with procurement objectives under section 12, the National Procurement Policy Statement or the Welsh equivalent, the duty to consider small and medium enterprises in regulated below-threshold contracts under section 86, nor the exercise of a contracting authority’s discretion in procurements.
Findings and recommendations will be captured in a report which may be published on GOV.UK. A contracting authority may also be requested to provide progress reports (which could include an action plan), to demonstrate what actions (if any) the contracting authority has taken as a result of a recommendation. These may also be published. The PCS may issue guidance that applies to contracting authorities more generally relating to the lessons learnt from an investigation.
Related Services
Procurement in Devolved Administrations
If your concern relates to a procurement activity under a devolved arrangement, use these services:
Northern Ireland – Construction and Procurement Delivery
Scotland – Single Point of Enquiry
Wales – Wales Procurement Review Unit
Debarment Review Service (DRS)
The Debarment Review Service (DRS) investigates whether suppliers should be added to the debarment list. It aims to protect public money from suppliers who pose a risk to public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023.
DRS manages debarment for all exclusion grounds, except those relating to national security.
As of 1st April 2026, the DRS will be part of the Government Commercial Agency.
National Security Unit for Procurement (NSUP)
The National Security Unit for Procurement (NSUP) handles debarment, exclusion and termination cases involving national security grounds.
NSUP is based within the Cabinet Office and works closely with the Debarment Review Service (DRS).
Go to the National Security Unit for Procurement overview.
PCO Reporting
In line with the government’s commitment to transparency, PCO services publish reports.
PPRS
Public Procurement Review Service Annual Reports
Public Procurement Review Service Raised Referrals and Case Resolutions
PCS
No publications at this time.
Guidance and Support on the Procurement Act 2023
There is a published suite of guidance documents, covering every part of the Procurement Act 2023, including the provisions regarding procurement oversight. View the guidance page.
Complaints Procedure
If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from Procurement Compliance & Oversight (such as poor communication or behaviour) please refer to the Cabinet Office complaints procedure.