Small Shropshire businesses and social enterprises are set to benefit from a  more "transparent” procurement process for council contracts thanks to a new law.

The council have announced that the Procurement Act 2023, received royal assent in October last year and will come into force on 28 October 2024.

Shropshire council have said the new law will create a “simpler and more flexible" process and aims to “embed transparency”.

From October, for larger contracts, the council have said that they will be obliged to publish additional information about its procurement process including an 18-month pipeline of upcoming activity and notices regarding the performance of supplier’s contracts, such as where there are performance issues and variations to contracts.  

Mark Jones, Shropshire council’s cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said:  

“We spend around £400m a year on buying in goods, works and services.

“Therefore, this is an important and welcome change which will not only increase transparency, but also make it easier for small businesses and social enterprises to compete for contracts with the council – a key aim in our policy.”