What changed in one view?
| Area | Legacy (PCR 2015 era) | Act regime |
|---|---|---|
| Award basis | MEAT: most economically advantageous tender | MAT: most advantageous tender |
| Procedures | Open, restricted, competitive dialogue, and others | Open or competitive flexible procedure |
| Notices | OJEU/TED and Contracts Finder routes | Central digital platform via Find a Tender |
| Supplier information | Selection questionnaires per procurement | Core supplier information via the platform (Reg 6) |
| Post-award | Standstill and award notices under legacy rules | Assessment summaries, standstill where applicable |
Each row is a pointer to a spoke, not the full story: MAT scoring, procedures, notice routes, and after award. Confirm section references against the Act text on legislation.gov.uk and the phase guidance before treating any row as advice; this table summarises, it does not enact.
What stays on legacy rules?
Procurements commenced before commencement: the transitional provisions decide the boundary, not the calendar alone. Frameworks and dynamic systems established under legacy instruments, call-offs under them, and contracts already awarded all continue under the rules that formed them. Hypothetical timeline: a framework established in late 2024 runs its call-offs under legacy terms even as new 2026 formations run under the Act: two regimes, one buyer, same year. The Cabinet Office Procurement Act 2023 guidance collection holds the phase-by-phase documents; cite the specific document, not the collection, when a clause turns on it.
The legacy checklist
- Notice date. When was this procurement commenced, and under which instrument.
- Framework vintage. Formation date and instrument of any panel or system the call-off runs under.
- Vocabulary. MEAT language signals legacy; MAT signals Act, but confirm, because buyers reuse templates.
- Notice route. Legacy publication routes versus the central platform, which the notice actually used.
- Remedies. Standstill and challenge rules follow the regime, not the year; see after the award decision.
What does this mean for the bid/no-bid call?
A tender assessed under the wrong regime in week one misreads procedure, evidence timing, and remedy; the gate needs the regime named before the hours. Legacy is not worse, just different: gate it on its own terms. The regime selector is the UK pillar.