CEWales Newsletter April 2025
Busy end of financial year deadlines has seen us hand over to Welsh Government our independent review on PBA’s, a Digital Action Plan for the construction and built environment sector and a report on changing the behaviours and cultures in contracting and procurement in social housing. Thank you to all our members who have contributed to these schemes of work, your input is invaluable in informing and shaping the intelligence we submitted. All this…. as well as conducting the judging for the CEWales 2025 awards, congratulations to all those shortlisted and good luck!
There are also other significant changes impacting the sector of which one of the most important is the Procurement Act and associated Regulations which came into force only a few months ago on 24 February 2025.
The new Procurement Regime, if implemented correctly, will ensure Welsh public sector buyers and suppliers will benefit from simpler, more flexible procurement processes and aims to streamline procurement activities and encourage innovation. It will improve transparency across the procurement lifecycle ensuring that all procurement decisions are clear and accessible. The reforms will unlock opportunities for Welsh SMEs, opening the door to access and compete for public sector contracts.
However, one of constant issues often raised by the sector is the lack of visibility of the public sector pipeline of work.
Within the Procurement Act there is now a duty on Local Authorities to publish data on pipeline notices and that they be hosted on the Central Digital Platform. I therefore wonder how far this will satisfy the concerns the sector voice on visibility of pipeline. I would be very keen to hear your views on this and also on the thought….that it would be encouraging to see main contractors and consultants also providing greater transparency and commitment to populate a pipeline for all subcontractors to view.
Another key part of procurement reform is the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act. The first piece of procurement legislation for Wales includes specific contract management duties placed on contracting authorities that must be implemented when procuring major construction projects.
The duties include a set of model contract clauses that must be implemented throughout supply chains.
The clauses cover six areas that we want to improvements in:
- Payments – where we are proposing the implementation of project bank accounts and ringfencing retention money.
- Sub-contracting – where we are driving increased SME engagement and opportunities.
- Employment opportunities – where we are requiring the implementation of inclusive recruitment and employment practices.
- Employment compliance – where extra due diligence will be required in areas of employment law, health and safety, and trade union recognition.
- Training – where focus will be given to relevant competencies and upskilling opportunities.
- Environment – where considerations must be given to climate resilience, carbon reduction, biodiversity and the natural environment, and sustainable management of materials.