Three in ten public contracts still unpublished under new transparency law

In July, the Covid-19 Inquiry found that nearly £10 billion of the £14.9 billion spent on PPE during the pandemic was wasted. Systemic bias in the allocation of these contracts, combined with a lack of transparency over their award, did untold damage to public confidence. In the wake of its findings, the Government urgently needs to rebuild public trust in how it buys goods and services. 

As a first step, authorities need to disclose, in full and on time, the contracts that they sign. But new research suggests that they are falling even at this low hurdle, despite a new law intended to tighten up public procurement.  

During the pandemic, we identified a total collapse in public bodies’ compliance with legal obligations to report contracts they had signed.  Many deadlines were missed by a mile, with at least 141 high-value contracts worth £5 billion in total published one year after their award – long after the 30-day period required by law.  

The Procurement Act 2023 was billed by the Government as a step change  that would “[embed] transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle so that the spending of taxpayers’ money can be properly scrutinised.”  Under the Act, public bodies must disclose the details of any contracts they sign within a set of clear deadlines.   

New analysis by procurement specialist Chris Smith shows that, since the Act came into force in early 2025, authorities have been failing to meet these deadlines. As of 1 October, 30 per cent of contract notices, worth £77.8 billion, have not been published despite the legal requirement to do so. And despite the overly generous thresholds for publishing contracts, which only apply to awards over £5 million (up from £2 million under the previous rules), Smith’s analysis found that 41 per cent of these large procurements, collectively worth £113.6 billion, have not been published on time.  

Failing to publish information about contracts in a timely manner hampers the public sector’s efforts to improve value for money, and risks further corroding citizens’ confidence that their money is being spent fairly and effectively. It also undermines an important tool for detecting poor procurement practices and potential misconduct, such as large advance payments or overly broad indemnity clauses. As the Covid-19 Inquiry's report said: "Where there was a lack of transparency as to how contracts were awarded, the vacuum of information was filled with suspicion, accusations of cronyism (the award of contracts to friends or associates without due regard to an offer's merits) and concerns about corruption." 

We have called on parliaments and governments across the UK to act where contracting authorities consistently fail to publish key documents and information on time. As a minimum, the UK Government’s Procurement Compliance Service, which focuses on systemic breaches of the Procurement Act 2023,  should investigate these delays and identify recommendations to improve the situation.  No one wants to repeat the mistakes of the pandemic, especially at a time when public finances are under severe strain, yet there is a risk that we will do so if this important law is not implemented properly.