Section 70 Transparency Is Almost Here: What Suppliers Need to Know About Significant Payment Notices Under the Procurement Act 2023

From 1 April 2026, a major new transparency requirement under the Procurement Act 2023 will take effect pursuant to the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No. 4) Regulations 2025.

Section 70 introduces a duty on contracting authorities to publish quarterly “significant payment notices” detailing payments over £30,000 made under public contracts awarded under the new regime.

Although the statutory obligation of publication falls on public bodies, the commercial consequences of these new requirements will be felt by suppliers.

However, in accordance with section 70(4), the publication obligation does not extend to a public contract that is any of the following:

• A utilities contract awarded by a private utility.
• A concession contract.
• Awarded by a school.
• 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.
• Awarded as part of a procurement under a transferred Northern Ireland procurement arrangement. 

What Is Changing?

Under section 70:

• Authorities must publish information about payments exceeding £30,000 under relevant public contracts.
• The requirement applies to contracts awarded following procedures commenced on or after 1 April 2026.
• Reports must be published on the central digital platform within 30 days of the end of each reporting quarter.

This sits alongside other transparency duties under the Act, including:

• Payment compliance reporting (section 69) covering whether invoices are paid within 30 days.
• Contract performance notices (section 71) covering KPI failures and certain contractual breaches.

Taken together, the regime creates an unprecedented level of public visibility over public sector contract performance and cashflow.

Why This Matters for Suppliers

Payment Data Will Become Public

From April 2026, payments above £30,000 received under new-regime contracts will be published on a searchable platform, which will record the supplier name, the value of the payment, and the contract under which the payment has been made. This means:

• Competitors can see revenue flows.
• Journalists can track large payments.
• Future contracting authorities can scrutinise patterns.
• Investors and partners can analyse dependency on public contracts.

The UK Government has published guidance on contract payment information, which complements Regulation 38A of the Procurements Regulations 2024 that requires authorities to publish:

• 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.
• The unique identifier for the procurement.
•  The unique identifier for the contract (to which the payment relates).
• The name and unique identifier in respect of the supplier to whom the relevant payment was made.
• The value of the payment net of value-added tax (VAT).
• The date the payment was made.

As authorities are therefore only required to publish the value of a payment net of VAT and the date of the payment, for suppliers operating milestone or stage-based payment structures, isolated large payments may be reported without commercial context. Without such context, large single payments could be misinterpreted as cost escalation, appear inconsistent with prior quarters, and invite further scrutiny, alongside other reporting requirements under the Act.

Commercial Leverage

The strategic advantage of a section 70 notice is that, when it is read alongside a section 69 report, it will allow suppliers to:

• Assess which authorities consistently pay on time.
•  Benchmark payment reliability across sectors.
•  Make informed bid/no-bid decisions.
•  Price payment risk more accurately.

Where data reveals slow or inconsistent payment behaviour, suppliers will be better placed to:

• Negotiate stronger payment protections.
• Seek mobilisation payments.
• Adjust pricing structures.

Therefore, transparency can be utilized for negotiating leverage if suppliers actively monitor notices.

Risk of Data Aggregation

Section 70 does not operate in isolation as authorities will also be publishing:

• Prompt payment statistics (section 69).
• KPI failures and serious performance issues (section 71).
• Certain contract modification and termination notices.

Taken together, this creates a public performance profile for each supplier under public contracts and inaccurate, incomplete or poorly contextualised reporting could:
 

• Affect future tender evaluations.
• Increase reputational scrutiny.
• Influence commercial counterparties.

Suppliers should assume this data will be reviewed during due diligence and bid assessments.

Immediate Actions for Suppliers

With 1 April 2026 fast approaching, suppliers should:

1. Audit invoice and contract data to ensure invoice values, payment dates, and contract identifiers are accurate and internally reconciled.
2. Review payment structures and consider whether upcoming contracts under the new regime could generate misleading perceptions once payments are published.
3. Strengthen payment tracking and prepare to monitor published notices and cross-check them against internal records.
4. Engage with contracting authorities early to discuss reporting mechanics and ensure mutual clarity on contract references and milestone descriptions.
5. Incorporate transparency into bid strategy as both suppliers’ and authorities’ payment history will become part of the strategic landscape.

Summary

The Procurement Act 2023 marks a decisive shift toward radical transparency in public contracting.

From 1 April 2026, payment flows above £30,000 will be made public, searchable, and linkable to broader performance data.

For suppliers, this is both exposure and intelligence.

Those who prepare now and treat transparency as part of commercial strategy rather than regulatory background noise will be best positioned when the new regime goes live.

If you would like advice on how section 70 may affect your public sector portfolio or upcoming tenders, please contract NPhillips@crowell.com and ENorthcott@crowell.com