Pipeline Notices under the Procurement Act 2023

Under section 93 of the Procurement Act, large contracting authorities with an anticipated spend of £100m under relevant contracts in the upcoming financial year are required to publish a Pipeline Notice on the Government’s ‘Find a Tender’ online service. 

Here, Eddy Martin explains what a Pipeline Notice is and when it must be published.

What is a Pipeline Notice? 

Pipeline Notices are announcements of a contracting authority’s plans for large procurements. They should set out specific information about the procurement including a brief description of the goods, services or works under the procurement, the estimated date of publication of the tender and the title of the procurement.

Designed to support the preparedness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) by providing early visibility of upcoming opportunities, Pipeline Notices help such organisations to plan resources, encourage innovation and ultimately enhance their chances of securing contracts. They also foster a more competitive and transparent procurement process that benefits both suppliers and contracting authorities. 

The requirement under the Act for Pipeline Notices to be issued by contracting authorities came into effect on 1 April 2025. 

Who do Pipeline Notices apply to?

Relevant contracting authorities are only mandated to publish such notices for new procurements with an estimated value of over £2m planned over the next 18 months. However, the Government has advised that contracting authorities are welcome to publish voluntary notices for contracts valued at less than £2m. 

It’s important to note here that as the spend of a contracting authority can fluctuate, a requirement under the Act to publish a Pipeline Notice in one year may not apply for the next year, depending on projects and funding. Conversely, this means that authorities that aren’t initially subject to the provision may need to comply in later years as their financial commitments grow.

When must a Pipeline Notice be published? 

Any contracting authorities caught by this requirement have until 26 May in each financial year — a 12-month period beginning on 1 April — to publish their Pipeline Notices (where applicable). This means that authorities affected this year have until 26 May 2025 to publish their notices. 

Challenges with the current requirement

The current position communicated by the Government is that a Pipeline Notice should be published for each individual procurement (subject to the spending threshold of more than £2m for that specific procurement and £100m over the financial year for the contracting authority). 

This approach means that contracting authorities that undertake pre-market engagement must now publish at least three mandatory notices in advance of even commencing a procurement. These would include the new Pipeline Notice, a pre-market engagement notice and a tender notice. The addition of the Pipeline Notice introduces further administrative burdens for contracting authorities, which now must publish an extra notice for each procurement. 

If (as originally expected) a relevant contracting authority was only required to publish one Pipeline Notice for all procurements valued over £2m over the next 18 months — rather than multiple separate notices for each individual procurement — this would significantly reduce the administrative burden while still ensuring that SMEs and VCSEs have adequate time to prepare for tender opportunities. 

Unfortunately, the Find a Tender system UK1 Notice is designed on a per-procurement basis. This additional layer of bureaucracy — on top of the multiple notices required elsewhere in the Act — is a source of contention for many contracting authorities. 

Talk to us 

By understanding the requirements and implications of the Procurement Act 2023, contracting authorities can effectively navigate the new procurement landscape and ensure compliance with the latest regulations.

Our specialist public procurement team is here to assist you with all aspects of the Procurement Act 2023, including the implementation of Pipeline Notices. 

Talk to our experts today by calling 0333 004 4488, emailing hello@brabners.com or completing our contact form below.