Even where the value of a contract falls below the threshold for the full application of the procurement regulations, there remain obligations to publish details of contracts being awarded to the Contracts Finder website, unless the value of the contract is de minimis.
On 21 December 2022, the Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2022 came into force and updated the de minimis thresholds for publication of contract notices and contract award notices to Contracts Finder. The thresholds are now £12,000 inclusive of VAT for central government bodies and £30,000 inclusive of VAT for sub-central government bodies, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts.
NHS Foundation Trusts will welcome this confirmation that, for these purposes, it is the £30,000 threshold that applies to them (this had previously been unclear).
Prior to January 2022 these thresholds were £10,000 and £25,000 respectively, in both cases exclusive of VAT. In January 2022, new regulations updated to the thresholds to be inclusive of VAT, creating an effective reduction in the de minimis threshold. This latest uplift in the de minimis value therefore restores the position to what it was before the January 2022 amendment.