The contract lifecycle doesn't end at award

Most social housing procurement teams have got to grips with what the Procurement Act 2023 means for how they go to market.What’s proving harder to navigate is what the Act expects after the contract is signed.

The obligations are specific and they don’t leave much room for interpretation. KPIs have to be agreed and published before award on any contract over £5 million, not drafted during mobilisation or added once delivery is underway. Supplier performance has to be formally assessed and published every year for the life of the contract. Where a supplier isn’t meeting its obligations, a contract performance notice is required. And when a contract ends, whether it’s terminated early or simply reaches its natural expiry, a termination notice has to be published within 30 days. On top of that, the National Procurement Policy Statement requires organisations to benchmark their own contract management capability as part of demonstrating value for money.

That’s a significant set of requirements, and most of them sit outside the procurement process itself. This guide maps each stage of the contract lifecycle against what the Act and the NPPS now require, identifies where value is most commonly lost, and shows how PfH’s frameworks, Quantum platform and consultancy services support members at every point from initial strategy through to renewal.

Inside this free guide

This practical guide walks through all five stages of the contract lifecycle and what good looks like at each one, including:

Strategy and needs assessment. Getting the route to market right before procurement starts isn’t just good practice under the Act, it’s a commercial obligation. The guide covers what the NPPS expects at this stage, how to align procurement decisions with organisational strategy from the outset, and how Quantum’s spend data supports better category decisions before a single specification is written.

Market engagement and procurement. The Act’s KPI requirements change the way procurement teams need to approach contracts over £5 million, because the performance framework has to be in place before award rather than built afterwards. The guide explains what that means in practice, and how PfH’s frameworks and DPS routes can reach a compliant award in as little as 10 to 15 days without compromising on process.

Contract award and mobilisation. A contract that isn’t set up properly at award tends to drift, and drift is expensive. The guide covers what the Act requires at this stage, including the contract details notice, formal KPI recording and supplier obligation documentation, and how Quantum’s obligations framework pins every commitment to a named owner from day one so nothing gets lost in the handover.

Active contract management. Research suggests poorly managed contracts cost organisations up to 9% of annual contract value, and it tends to happen without anyone noticing until the cost has already accumulated. The guide covers how to track KPI performance consistently, validate spend against agreed rates, spot off-contract purchasing before it compounds, and build the evidence base the Act now requires when supplier performance falls short.

Renewal, extension or retender. Contracts that aren’t actively managed towards their end date create problems that are entirely avoidable. The guide explains what the Act requires when a contract terminates, including the 30-day publication window, and covers how to structure the renewal decision process so you’re never scrambling to retender under time pressure with a supply chain gap opening up behind you.

Essential for procurement, finance and asset management professionals in social housing

Procurement managers and heads of procurement who need a clear picture of what the Procurement Act 2023 requires across the full contract lifecycle, not just at the point of award. Finance directors and financial controllers who need consolidated spend visibility, invoice validation and contract data in one place rather than pieced together from multiple supplier reports. Asset management leads who need to track capital spend in real time, hold contractors to account against agreed KPIs and mobilise programmes quickly without building the administrative infrastructure from scratch each time.

The organisations that manage contract compliance well under the new legislation won’t necessarily be the ones with the largest procurement teams. They’ll be the ones that have visibility of every obligation across their contract portfolio, and the right tools and routes to manage those obligations consistently from award through to expiry.

Download your free guide now and see how PfH supports you across the full contract lifecycle.