Guidance: Contract Payment Information

What is contract payment information?

1. Contract payment information is information that contracting authorities are required to publish in accordance with section 70 of the procurement Act 2023 (the Act). It will be published on the central
   digital platform and link payments made by contracting authorities to the specific public contract under which the cost was incurred.
2. The published contract payment information will improve transparency, allowing contracting authorities and the public to gain a comprehensive understanding of public sector procurement spending in respect of individual contracts and suppliers. By aligning procurement and financial data, it will be easier for contracting authorities to spot inconsistencies, prevent errors, provide accurate reconciliation and respond to enquiries.
   What is the legal framework that governs contract payment information?
3. Section 70 of the Act sets out the obligations to publish information about payments under public contracts. It provides that a contracting authority must publish specified information about payments of more than £30,000 (including VAT) made by the authority under public contracts1. The information is to be published quarterly. This requirement applies to public contracts procured under the Act2 in accordance with a procurement procedure that commenced on or after 1 April 20263 (when section 70 was brought into force).
4. In accordance with section 70(4), the publication obligation does not extend to a public contract that is:
   a. a utilities contract awarded by a private utility,
   b. a concession contract,
   c. awarded by a school,
   d. awarded by a transferred Northern Ireland authority, unless it is awarded as part of a procurement under a reserved procurement arrangement or devolved Welsh procurement arrangement, or
   e. awarded as part of a procurement under a transferred Northern Ireland procurement arrangement.
5. Additionally, section 70 does not apply to the establishment of framework agreements (under which no payments are made) nor dynamic markets (which are not public contracts).
6. However, section 70 does apply in respect of payments made under call-off contracts where these contracts:
   a. are public contracts,
   b. are awarded under a framework or dynamic market established under the Procurement Act
   2023, and
   c. commenced after 1 April 2026.
7. By virtue of the definition of public contract, the requirement to publish contract payment information also does not apply to below-threshold contracts or exempted contracts.
8. The Procurement Regulations 2024 (PR 2024) sets out the specific publication requirements. Regulation 38A4 details the information that must be published, which is:
   a. the name of, the contact postal and email address for, and the unique identifier for the
   contracting authority which made the payment, and, if a different authority, of the authority which published the contract details notice under section 53 of the Act;
   b. the unique identifier for the procurement;
   c. the unique identifier for the contract (to which the payment relates);
   d. the name and unique identifier in respect of the supplier to whom the relevant payment was made;
   e. the value of the payment net of VAT;
   f. the date that the payment was made.
9. Regulation 38A also provides that the unique identifiers for the contract and procurement are not required where no notice relating to the contract has previously been published on the central digital
   platform and a unique identifier is not available.